Unexplainable Love
by Leanna R
Summary: What do you do when the one person you want the most in the world is the same one person who can destroy your life? NOW COMPLETE!
1. First Meetings

Disclaimer: I own squat unless it doesn't look familiar. ABC and GH own it all. Please don't sue me :(

A/N: This is a bit of an AU, as most Fanfics are. So… here is a bit of some background information. Sonny and Carly are happily married. As of now, there is no Lorenzo. There is definitely no Sam (I like her, but she just doesn't fit into my story). Courtney and Jax are engaged, and everyone else is how they are on the show. Michael, Morgan and Kristina were never kidnapped, but AJ is still living in PC. I don't know where Rachel is yet. Jason and Courtney's history is the same as on the show. Without further ado, I'll stop talking and let you read.

* * *

**Chapter 1- First Meetings**

"Did you find out any more information Jason?" asked Sonny

"No, all I know is that this guy's made it to Port Charles. I still have no name, no face, and no idea who paid him"

"Do you at least know the target?"

"No idea"

"This isn't good"

"Believe me, I know" said Jason. He rubbed his forehead and then told Sonny he was going out for a ride. He grabbed his leather jacket and grabbed his keys.

He rode his bike to the docks, and then stopped and looked out at the water. He was just gazing at the water, when of all things, Courtney popped into his head.

"Stop thinking about her" he thought to himself. "She's with Jax now"

"I just need a distraction" he said out loud.

Careful what you wish for. All the sudden, he heard footsteps behind him. He didn't see what was going on, but he did see a gun pulled out, and pointed at him. All the sudden, a finger squeezed a trigger and he ducked as more bullets rang out. He grabbed for his gun, but it was kicked out of his hand. He watched as a perfectly manicured hand reached down and picked up the gun.

"This one's out of ammo" said the shooter and she threw it into the water. "Now, where were we?"

Jason looked her up and down. She was little, probably 5'4" and 110 pounds. She had dark hair and dark eyes. Her hair was in a pony tail, but not in a cheerleader type way. It was a pony tail that was acceptable at a fancy restaurant. She had a French manicure, and knee length leather boots. She wore a short black skirt and a black tank top. She didn't look like the kind of girl who knew how to handle a gun, let alone shoot at him and get his gun from his own hand.

"You're the shooter?" asked Jason incredulously.

"You better believe it Mr. Morgan. Now say goodbye" she said.

She normally didn't hesitate to kill someone, but there was something about his eyes. Something that captivated her. Before she knew what was going on, he kicked the gun out of her hand, similar to what she did to him. He had her down on the ground, and he was straddling her. His gun was now in his hand, and the gun was pointed at her head.

"Hey, I like to be on top" she said calmly, with a fake pout. Through her darkly painted lips, her brilliant white teeth shone. She put on a smile, and he was blown away. It was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. But he couldn't focus on her smile; he had to focus on his job.

"Who do you work for?" he asked her

"Like I'd tell you" she answered.

Normally, Jason would hit the person in this situation until they talked. But he felt weird hitting a girl. Especially such a beautiful one.

"I don't want to hurt you" he said.

In matter of a second, she was on top of him, and she got the gun.

"Then that will be the death of you" she said, gun pointed at his head

"Why do you want to kill me?" he asked

"Because those were my orders"

"Funny, my orders were to kill you"

"So, look's like one of us dies, and the other one gets a pat on the back by their boss."

"Looks like it" said Jason

He stared at her, and she stared at him. The girl looked away, unable to gaze into his eyes any longer.

"I don't want to kill you" she said, surprising herself, and Jason

"And I don't want to kill you" he said. The two were unable to deny their attraction to each other. Without realizing what he was doing, Jason reached up and pushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

"So, what do we do about this?" she asked

"How bout we pretend nothing happened"

"Fine, I never saw you and you never saw me" she said getting up off of him. She offered her hand, and he took it, getting off of the ground.

She pulled her arm back and heaved the gun into the water.

"There, all the evidence gone" she said

"All at the bottom of the harbor" he said.

"Yeah" she whispered.

"What's your name?" he asked her

"I can't tell you that" she said with a smile. "Goodnight Mr. Morgan" she said as she walked away. Jason watched as her hips swayed as she walked. It was obvious that she wasn't even doing it on purpose. It was just how it was.

He sighed. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to kill the person who wanted to hurt him and his family. But he couldn't.

* * *

"So, is he dead?" asked Armando as she walked into the room. "Serena?" he asked

"Not exactly" she said. 'He's harder to kill then I thought"

"I warned you mariposa, Jason Morgan is hard target. Does he know who you are though? Adrian will never forgive me if his wife becomes a target of Jason Morgan"

"Your son knew that he was taking a risk by marrying a hit woman. Don't worry about Adriano or Morgan"

* * *

Jason walked back into his penthouse and closed the door. He leaned back against it and closed his eyes. All he could see was her beautiful face. He didn't even know her name. And what was he going to tell Sonny? 'Sorry, but she was too pretty to kill' usually doesn't cut it. He sighed, knowing he just wouldn't say anything to Sonny. But he never lied to Sonny. At least not before Courtney. Of course, Courtney. It always led back to her. He had forgotten about her in the excitement of the night. Seeing nothing else to do, he decided to go to bed. That night, rather then his sleep being filled with restless Courtney dreams, it was filled with comforting dreams about his mystery woman from the docks.

* * *

"Come to bed Serena" called Adrian Sandoval from his bed. She sighed, getting up from her seat by the window and cuddling into her husband's arms. His big muscular arms. As a Spanish woman herself, she had always fallen for the tall, dark, handsome, Latin men. And Adrian was exactly that. She had met him when his father had hired her brother to kill someone for him. But her brother, Kemen, had recently been shot and needed to recover. Kemen was a man of honor though, and he refused to pass up the chance to work for the Sandoval's. Serena took it upon herself to go behind Kemen's back and take care of the hit. She handled it better then Kemen could have, impressing everyone with her work. Armando had been so pleased with her work, that he made her one of his right hand people. She was extremely loyal, and surprisingly, was ok with murder. Her good looks and her fake innocence allowed her access to anything and everything, making her an invaluable part of his operation. Of course, Armando's oldest son, Adriano fell hopelessly in love with her, as she did with him. They had wed last year, officially making Serena a Sandoval.

Now, as she lay in bed, she thought of her night. That was the first time she had ever missed a target. Especially on purpose. But what was she doing. She was married. She was in love with Adrian. And there was no questioning that. She snuggled closer to her husband, and he kissed her. She loved his kisses. As she pulled back for air, she saw that his eyes were blue. Her husband's eyes were brown though. She blinked, and realized that she had imagined that. She was seeing Jason Morgan while kissing her husband. This was not good.


	2. Cursed

A/N: Here is chapter 2. No one actually read my story, or at least no one reviewed. :( But, i do have the next 8 or so chapters of this already written, so I'm going to keep posting it, if only to hurt my self esteem when no one reviews. To be perfectly fair, it's barely been a day, but still. So, if anyone reviewed and it just didn't get posted yet, thanks so much. For those who read but didn't review, please just drop a line that says "I read your story", just to make me feel better! And for those who aren't crazy like me and just don't check the site everyday and are now reading my story for the first time, thanks so much, I hope you like it. And if after three days I still have squat, then I'm changing the summary, praying to trick someone into reading it!

And without further ado…

**Chapter 2- Cursed**

"Earth to Jason" said Carly as she waved her hand in front of Jason's face.

"What, right, hi Carly" said Jason, snapping out of it.

"What were you thinking about?" asked Carly.

"Ah, nothing" Jason lied.

Luckily, Sonny walked out of the kitchen at this point, and Jason was able to get away from Carly.

"Hey, any new information on the shooter" asked Sonny to Jason as they walked into the hallway.

"Nope" said Jason in yet another lie.

"Alright, just keep searching. You think he's after my family?" asked Sonny

"I don't know. She's probably after me" said Jason

"She?" asked Sonny

"Or he. It could be either"

"Jase, are you keeping something from me?" asked Sonny suspiciously.

"Of course not. I'm just tired, you know" said Jason

"Yeah, I do know" said Sonny. "Just be careful"

"I will" he said as he walked out of the hallway and into his penthouse.

* * *

The day went by slowly for Jason. He was supposed to be finding more information on the shooter. Why had he let her go? Why hadn't he done his job? He knew he shouldn't be distracted by some girl, but he was. How could he have let this happen?

Night had fallen, and Jason couldn't sleep. He decided instead to take a walk. He found himself at the docks, the same place where he had met her. He was about to walk down the stairs, when he saw some girl being harassed by a man who was obviously drunk. He was about to jump in and save the day, when he saw the girl pushing him away on her own. The guy got a little more aggressive, and before he knew it, she had put him in his place. The guy hurried off, away from her. That was when the girl turned around.

"Shit" thought Jason. "It's her"

"Well, well, Mr. Morgan" she said seeing him. "Are you following me?"

"Nope, just coming to think"

"Good, for a second, I thought you forgot about our little no killing each other pact"

"Nah, I have no intentions of killing you" he said

"Good" she answered with a smile

"Can I ask you a question though?" he asked as they sat on the bench.

"Sure, but I'm not necessarily going to answer it" she said

"What's you name?" he asked

"I can't answer that"

"Please," he begged, "just give me a first name"

"You're begging. You don't strike me as the begging type" she said

"That's how desperate I am"

"Why is it so important to know my name?" she asked him

"I just need to know. Please?"

"Fine. It's Serena"

"Serena" he said, as though he was testing it out. "Well alright then" he said.

"So Jason, " she said, "you live in Port Charles your whole life?"

Before he knew it, he was telling her everything. About his mother, and Monica adopting him, and then his accident, and his working for Sonny. He even told her about Courtney.

"And here I am now" he finished. "So, tell me about you"

"Sorry" she said, "only one secret for tonight. And you already found out my name"

"You're not going to even tell me where you learned to handle a gun so well?"

"I am especially not going to tell you where I learned to handle a gun so well"

"Fine" he said, throwing up his hands in defeat.

They were silent for a while. She watched the water, as the moon reflected on it. He watched her. God she was beautiful. Jason had never wanted to kiss someone as much as he wanted to kiss Serena. He saw her shiver a little and he pealed off his leather jacket and gently draped it over her shoulders

"Thanks" she whispered. "I guess chivalry isn't dead?"

"Not for me" he said.

He brushed back some of her hair so it rested behind her ear. It was so long and silky, and the wind gently blew it around her face. He didn't know what overtook him, but he suddenly leaned into her. She leaned in too, and both of them closed their eyes. They were inches apart, their lips about to touch, when she suddenly pulled away.

"I have to go" she cried, pulling off his jacket and giving it back to him.

"Wait, Serena, why?" he asked

"Jason, that is none of your business" she said

"Serena, please tell me" he cried.

"Jason, I'm married!" she yelled. "I am a married woman"

"Why aren't you wearing wedding rings?" he asked

"Because, I always take them off when I'm working. That's what I was supposed to be doing. I was supposed to be finding and killing you. Not falling-. Not almost kissing you" she said.

Jason felt his heart rip out of his chest. The one girl who had seemed perfect to him was married. Of course she was, it only made sense.

'You're not allowed to be happy, remember' he savagely reminded himself in his head.

"Serena, I'm sorry. About everything, but especially about the, the ah, the almost kiss"

"Me too" she whispered. "I have to go" she said as she turned around, desperate to hide her tear filled eyes. The tears were threatening to spill, and she just didn't want him to see her cry. She had seen his eyes when she told him she was married. He looked so sad, so hurt. She didn't want to hurt him.

"You know what?" he yelled after her. "I'm not sorry about that" he said as he tenderly but firmly grabbed her arm and gently spun her around. The next thing they both knew, their mouths were pressed against each other's. Their tongues darted in and out of each other's mouths, and they wrapped their arms around one another. He ran his hands through her hair, and she ran her hands up and down his chest. Both eventually moved their hands to each others faces, holding the other close to them.

They soon needed to pull away, if only to breathe. Serena looked into Jason's eyes. He was perfect. She wanted him so badly. And he felt the same way about her. But this couldn't happen. She was married and in love. With Jason's enemy nonetheless.

"I need to go" she said as she started to run off.

"Wait!" he called out.

To both of their surprise, she stopped running. But she kept her back to him.

"I'll be here tomorrow night, same time. Please meet me. But if you don't, I'll understand" he said.

She didn't say anything, but rather took off, running home.

* * *

When she reached home, the guards immediately let her in. She tried to sneak up to the room she shared with Adrian and get into bed without waking him. But Adrian was an extremely light sleeper, and he woke up immediately.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, taking her into his arms. "It's late, and I thought Morgan got to you" he said as he kissed the top of her head and held her with all that he had.

'Oh he got to me alright' she thought to herself.

"I'm fine Adrian. I'm just tired" she said.

"Alright, let's go to bed" said Adrian.

She changed into a pair of sweat pants and a tank, and brushed her teeth. When she got into bed, Adrian gently rolled her over and started massaging her back and shoulders.

She felt like she didn't deserve a man like him. He loved her unconditionally, and would do anything for her, yet she had kissed another man. Adrian had shown her on countless occasions that he would do anything for her. How could she betray him like that?

* * *

Jason lay in bed. She was somewhere, snuggled into her husband's arms. Why did she have to be married? Why couldn't things just work out for him for once? Why did the girl of his dreams have to have so much baggage? Maybe he was already in hell. He knew that was where he was going once he died. No one kills that many people and gets away with it. But maybe hell had come early. Maybe he would just be tortured by having incredible woman that he couldn't have thrown in his face. Women like Serena. Women that he wanted to hold, and kiss, and fall in love with. But he was cursed to live his life alone. He sighed and rubbed his face. He tried to imagine that she wasn't married, and that she was there with him. But no amount of imagining would bring her to him. And all he wanted was her.

A/N: Please review! It's nice to know someone's reading (see above note). Oh, and let me know of any spelling or grammar errors. I'm slightly OCD and it's my pet peeve so I absolutely need to correct it. Thanks!


	3. Unexplainable Feelings

Yay! Three chapters in three days. I planned on waiting longer to post this but then I got a review, so I decided to just go for it. BTW, Claire, you are sooooo my new best friend. Keep reading and reviewing (that goes for everyone. That's right, all one of you). Soooo, here's the next chapter...

**Chapter 3- Unexplainable Feelings**

She didn't know why she had come. And now, here she was, standing on the docks like an idiot. She was waiting for a guy, something she had promised herself a long time ago she would never do. She wasn't one of those helpless bimbos who based her life on guys. She wasn't a tomboy either, she had a passion for shoes and makeup, but she didn't feel the need to dumb herself up either. She really shouldn't be waiting for him. Especially because she was married. This was crazy. She decided instead to just walk away. Leave before she became invested. But it wouldn't happen that way.

"I'm glad you came" he said.

"I don't know what I'm doing here" she said

"That's ok. I'm just glad you're here" he said.

"I need to say goodbye. I can't see you anymore. I need to go home to my husband"

"Please, give me chance Serena"

"I can't do this. I need to respect the sanctity of marriage. Think of me as a killer with morals"

"I didn't know people like that existed"

"I'm one of a kind"

"I can't let you do this to yourself Serena"

"Do what?"

"Hurt yourself. You obviously want to be with me, or you wouldn't have come down. You would have let your absence speak for itself."

"You don't know anything about me"

"Then let me learn. Please"

"You want to know about me Jason? Well here it goes. I am married to your enemy. My last name, my husband's name? It's Sandoval! I was sent to kill you for my husband's family! For my family!"

"Serena, none of this matters to me. Because the point is you didn't kill me"

"How was I supposed to! I suddenly had all of these unexplainable feelings for you!" she said as she started crying. So much for not crying in front of him.

He wanted to hug her tight. He wanted to kiss her, and wipe away her tears. But he was afraid of what she would do if he got close. He decided to risk it, and he hugged her. She didn't pull back. Instead, she allowed him to hold her and she sobbed into his chest.

"I'm so confused" she said. "I don't know what to do"

"Give me a chance" he said, taking her hands. "Give me a chance to prove to you that you and I are meant to be together"

"I can't. That would be adultery. Plus, if Adriano found out, he would have your head"

"Let 'em take it" said Jason. "As long as you're the one who has my heart"

'Wow, that was a great line' thought Serena as she felt her knees give a little

She gave in to passion, and she started kissing him. She felt his hot breath on her neck as he planted kisses all over her. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and his hands were on his back, holding her up as she arched backwards. Her hair was falling down her back on to his hands, and as she moved her head, her hair swayed, the silky feeling brushing against his hands.

* * *

For the next two weeks, the two snuck around, maintaining their secret relationship. Serena felt guilty about cheating on Adriano. He was always so concerned about her when she came home late, fearing she had gotten into trouble, or that someone had hurt her. Serena was desperate to stop her relationship with Jason. But she couldn't do it. Something was holding her back. And that something was love. In the short two weeks that they had been together, Serena had fallen in love with Jason. It was a more passionate love then the one she felt for Adrian. This was all in spite of the fact that she and Jason had yet to sleep together. She didn't even know if he loved her. They had never said those fateful words to each other. She had almost said it to him that time at the docks, but she had caught herself. If she admitted that she loved him, or if he admitted that he loved her, it would make it real. And real was dangerous. Very dangerous.

* * *

Jason had fallen asleep on the couch. He had gotten back so late last night from working, that he hadn't even had the energy to move. He was having the most incredible dream about Serena, but he soon saw it all slipping away as he woke up. He wanted to fall back asleep and finish the dream, but once he was awake, he was awake. He slowly opened his eyes and saw two other eyes standing over him, watching him. 

"Jesus Carly!" he yelled. "You can't just be here when I wake up. It's weird"

"I'm sorry, but I needed to talk to you. And I was about to wake you up, but then I noticed you were smiling. And your eyes were fluttering. Which means you were dreaming. And I'm guessing it was a good dream. Possibly about your secret girlfriend?"

"I don't have a secret girlfriend" said Jason. Technically, it was true. Serena wasn't his girlfriend; she was just this girl he was seeing. They had yet to call each other boyfriend and girlfriend.

"Sure. Then explain the late night rendezvous. How bout the smell of women's perfume on your clothes"

"Have you been looking through my laundry again?"

"I lost my ATM card again and I needed 20 bucks, there's no harm in borrowing from a friend. I was just looking for some forgotten cash"

"Sure" he said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Carly had a way of bringing on a migrane.

"So, who is it? Oh my god! It's Courtney, isn't it?" cried Carly

"Carly, Courtney is getting married. And we're over. Believe me" said Jason. The truth was he hadn't thought about Courtney since he met Serena. He felt more for her than he ever felt for Courtney. He never thought that was possible. But Serena understood the business side of everything. She, like him, was responsible for killing people. She knew exactly what was going through his head all the time. He loved that about her. He loved everything about her.

"So, then who is it?" pressed Carly

"Carly, don't interfere with my life, please. Just accept the fact that I'm alone. I have" said Jason.

"Jason, you're a catch. Just let some girls go fishing"

"Carly, no. No fishing, no anything. Don't you dare try to set me up with anyone. Just leave it alone" said Jason

"Fine, I'll forget about this conversation. But just for now" said Carly. "Now, here's what I really came over about. Morgan got this new toy, but there are all these complicated directions to set it up and…"

Jason let her keep talking. He decided the best way to deal with Carly was just to tune her out then do what she asked. It was no big deal helping Morgan. He could think about Serena the entire time.

* * *

Serena sat on the tree stump, waiting for Jason to come. She was at their secret meeting spot on the cliff, overlooking the town. They had been meeting here for the past few weeks. Serena shivered and wrapped her arms around her body. She usually wouldn't bring a coat just so Jason would wrap his leather jacket around her. She loved that jacket, if only because it smelled of him. He usually also brought a blanket for the two of them to wrap themselves up in and gaze at the stars. They would talk, and kiss, and just hold one another. It was so hard though, saying goodbye. Then, Serena would have to go home to her husband. She still loved Adrian, and she felt terrible cheating on him. But she did what she had to. And she had to be with Jason. Jason made her happy, Jason made her whole. If only things would just work out. 

She soon heard the roar of a motorcycle engine, and Jason appeared. Sure enough, he had a blanket in his hands.

"Hey" he said as he bent down to kiss her.

"Hi" she said, once they pulled away.

"You bring the wine?" he asked her.

"Of course" she said holding up the bottle next to her

"Perfect" he said. "What about glasses?"

Her face fell and she said "no, that would have been the intelligent thing to do. I am so sorry. I'm an idiot"

"Yes, well you're my idiot" he said with a smile

"Hey" she said, giving him a light slap to the chest. "The correct thing to say was 'no Serena, of course you're not an idiot'".

"I'm just kidding. You are smart. And beautiful. And the most incredible woman I have ever known" he said planting kisses on her neck in between each compliment. "It doesn't matter about the glasses. We can just drink out of the bottle"

"It is the classy thing to do" joked Serena.

Jason sat down next to her, wrapping them in the blanket. The two began to drink the wine, and talk, and kiss, and star gaze. But there was something magical that night. Maybe it had to do with the full moon. But something happened. Jason had just made a very cheesy comment, and Serena was cracking up at him. As he watched her laugh, he knew that she was the only girl for him. He knew they were meant to be. And he knew that he had to tell her the truth.

"What?" she asked as she stopped laughing and noticed that he was staring at her kind of funny.

"It's nothing" he said. "It's just- I know we haven't been together all that long, but, the thing is. I-I-"

"What, what is it Jason?" she asked, her face filled with concern.

"Serena, I love you" he said

She jumped up at this point, and started mumbling about how she needed to go. This wasn't supposed to happen.

"Serena, please don't go" he begged. "Please, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong"

"What's wrong? What's wrong! Jason, I am married. The only man who is supposed to love me is my husband"

"Well I'm sorry Serena, but I can't deny my feelings anymore"

"No, it's not you. It's me"

"Please don't tell me your breaking up with me with a line like that!" said Jason

"No you idiot! I'm telling you that I love you too!" she cried

Neither said another word as they ran to each other and started kissing. She wrapped her legs around him and he lifted her up. The kissing got more intense, and she started lifting up his t-shirt. She pulled it over his head and threw it on to the ground. He put her down on the blanket and laid down next to her. He took off her top as well, sliding it up over her arms. She undid his jeans, as he did to her, and they both slipped out of their pants. Next, Jason undid the clasp of her bra, and he gently pulled it off her. She tugged down his boxer, and he made his way down to her thong.

That night, under the light of the moon and the stars, the two made love. Their bodies joined as one, and they wouldn't have it any other way. There was no denying their love anymore. After they were done, Jason held her naked body in his arms. She was perfect, and he couldn't help but plant little kisses all over her body. Serena had never felt this complete. She had never had such incredible sex. Yet here she was, with a man who was not her husband, outside nonetheless, wearing nothing, and covered in only a thin blanket. And she couldn't even think of her husband. She couldn't even remember his name.


	4. Faithfully

A/N: It's been some time, and I have only gotten one review. But I like my story, and my one reviewer Claire liked my story, so I am just going to keep on posting. I have written all the way through chapter 8, and we'll see what happens after that. But seriously, if you're reading and not reviewing, REVIEW! I am getting desperate, as you can see from the change in summary. (Did I trick anyone into reading? Probably not.) Alright, here it goes…

* * *

**Chapter 4- Faithfully**

It became harder to keep their relationship a secret, but Jason and Serena were willing to do whatever they needed to do. Any stolen kisses, secret embraces, and quick sex they could fit into their busy schedules meant the world to them. They only wanted to be together.

Jason found himself alone at their cliff. She was over a half an hour late. He was worried about her. He knew that she could take care of herself, but what if someone got the one up on her? Suddenly, his cell phone rang. He saw that the caller ID had her name, and he answered it, a smile uncontrollably creeping on to his face.

"Hey" he said

"Hi" she whispered

"Where are you?" he asked.

"Look baby, I am so sorry, but Adriano wanted to spend the night together, and I can't tell him no. So I'll talk to you tomorrow, ok?" she whispered.

"Yeah, ok" he said, his heart breaking on the inside.

"I love you" she whispered

"I love you too" he said as the line went dead.

He sunk down on the stump. He didn't want her to spend the night with Adrian. He wanted her to be his and his alone. He knew that it would be difficult, getting involved with a married woman. He knew that her husband would come first. But he wanted to be there. He wanted to come first.

'She loves you, she loves you' he told himself over and over in his head. But it wasn't enough. He couldn't control his jealousy. But he needed to. He needed to control it. Truthfully, he wanted to hurt her like she was hurting him. He wanted to sleep with someone else just to get back at her. But he knew that she wasn't hurting him on purpose. He knew that if it was up to her, no one would be hurt. He knew that she was hurting enough by being torn between him and Adrian. He could never intentionally cause her pain. He sighed, and got on his bike, riding back to his empty penthouse.

He sat down on the couch, only able to think of her. He turned on the radio, and found it in the middle of Journey's_ Faithfully_. He instantly thought of Serena. She loved cheesy love songs that made you cry for no reason. If she was here, she would be singing on the top of her lungs to it.

"_I'm forever yours...faithfully"_

Some of the cheesiest lyrics ever written, yet why did he feel like they totally applied to his life right now? He started to smile as he listened to it. He could imagine her saying it to him, and he to her. He knew that he had to share her for now, but one day, it wouldn't be like that. Their love was strong enough to wait until then. He could deal with this. Because when push came to shove, she loved him. And he knew that she wouldn't let him go without a fight. And he certainly wouldn't let her go without a fight either.

* * *

Across town, Serena lay in her bed, her husband next to her. Their clothes were in a heap on the floor. She turned on the radio and heard one of her favorite cheesy love songs- _Faithfully._

"_I'm forever yours...faithfully"_

"I'm forever yours...faithfully. Jason" she whispered. She smiled at her sappiness, and then rolled over and fell asleep, Jason on her mind.

* * *

Serena sat brushing her hair in the mirror. She heard her bedroom door opened, and she turned to see who it was.

"Kemen!" she cried, delighted to see her brother. She ran into his arms and the two hugged. They were close, even for brother and sister. But Kemen was her only brother, and the two had relied on each other growing up. Their mother had abandoned them, and their father was an abusive alcoholic. As soon as Kemen turned 18, he packed up Serena, who was 9 at the time, and they hightailed it out of there. He had raised her. He had helped her with her homework; he had taught her the necessities of life. He had taught her how to shoot a gun, and how to fight. He had taught her everything. What would he say if he knew she was in love with Jason Morgan? Sonny Corinthos' right hand man was definitely off limits to her in Kemen's eyes.

"How are you mi subió? asked Kemen

"I'm good. I'm actually very good" she said

"I can tell. You look happier then usual"

"Do I normally look sad?" she asked

"No. You just look extremely happy today" he said to his sister.

* * *

Across town, Sonny was pacing a hole in the floor of his penthouse

"Jason, I don't like this" he said

"Sonny, calm down"

"Do not tell me to calm down! This shooter has been at large for the past month. No one knows who the hell he is! Not you, not Stan. No one! My family is at risk! I can not just let this keep going on! You need to find him and kill him. You need to eliminate this threat"

"Sonny, I'm trying. But I've been having a hard time tracking the sniper down"

"Does this have anything to do with you not trying to track the sniper down?" asked Sonny

"Sonny, what are you talking about?" asked Jason.

He was uncharacteristically panicked. Had Sonny found out about Serena?

"Carly mentioned something about a mysterious girlfriend"  
"Now you're listening to Carly?" he asked his best friend

"I don't know. Carly's usually right when it comes to your love life. I guess she has to be right about something every once in a while. It must be difficult being wrong all the time"

"Carly can hear you ya know!" cried Carly's voice from the kitchen

"Then Carly fell for the trap" yelled Sonny. "I knew you were listening when you shouldn't be"

"Dammit" she said walking out.

"Carly" said Sonny

"Yes dear" she said sweetly

"Go away"

"Gee thanks, love you too" she said, giving Sonny a kiss.

"I do love you. Which is why you and Max should go shopping together"

"I know that that's code for me to get out of here so you and Jason can talk business and I should take a guard with me"

"See, you are right sometimes" he said with a smile that showed his dimples.

"I can take a hint, I'm going. But I am right about Jason's secret girlfriend" she said as she walked out the door.

"Is she right Jason?" asked Sonny

"Sonny, there is no secret girlfriend" said Jason. He hated lying to his boss. But he knew Sonny would murder him if he found out that he was in love with the hit woman sent to kill them. The woman who was causing Sonny so much grief.

Jason went back across the hall to his penthouse. He knew that he was killing Sonny by not telling him the truth. But if he told the truth, Serena would be killed. He needed to formulate a plan. Honestly, he needed a Carly plan. He needed something completely crazy that he could twist around to make somewhat logical. Of course, this all started with telling Carly the truth. He knew what he had to do.

* * *

Carly wouldn't pick up her phone, as desperate as he was. She couldn't hear it over the roar of the women fighting over the strappy sandals at the shoe store. Luckily, she had Max to help her beat off the other size 7's.

Unable to wait for her, Jason decided to go looking for her. He tried every shoe store, hoping to find her. He had walked all over town when he finally came to the last one. He knew that he should have taken his bike, but he felt like walking. It gave him more time to think about Serena. He sighed, running his hands through his hair. Who could know that what would happen next would happen?

* * *

Serena was lounging in the pool. It was unusually hot.

"Shouldn't you be working" called Adrian from the side

"You don't really want a workaholic for a wife, do you?" she called over to him.

Adrian pealed off his shirt and shoes and wadded in with her.

She laughed as she saw how difficult it was for him to walk in the pool in his wet jeans.

"No, I certainly do not" he said as he kissed her.

Despite her love for Jason, Serena couldn't help but still love Adrian. He was her husband, her lover, her protector. She didn't need a protector, but it was still nice to have one. Adrian had been there for her, to get her out of trouble. And she certainly managed to always get into a lot of trouble. It hadn't been easy for him, marrying a hit woman. There was always the fear of her getting killed or arrested. But he was a mobster. And mobsters all had to deal with the same problems. Adrian knew that he didn't exactly choose the moral path. He knew his family dealt in drugs and prostitution, but he didn't care. He had been raised a mobster, and would always be a mobster. But Serena brought out the best in him.

"I love you" he told her. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you" he said.

Serena's smile faded as guilt consumed her.

"I love you too" she said as she kissed him. But when she did, her eyes were open. You fall in love with your eyes closed. You pretend with your eyes open.

* * *

Could it be? Was Jason consuming her life? She was standing in the shower, allowing the warm water to wash over her body. All she could think about was Jason. When she looked at Adrian's chiseled body, she thought of Jason's. When she kissed Adrian, she thought of Jason. What was happening to her world?

She got out of the shower and blow dried her hair. She slipped into a black tube top with dark jeans and black high healed sandals with a little bit of sparkle. She put on her favorite diamond hoop earrings, and a brilliant blue necklace. She flawlessly applied her makeup. She was going to visit Jason. Sonny Corinthos didn't know who she was, so it wouldn't be a big deal if she should show up at Jason's penthouse. She knew Jason didn't want Sonny or his wife Carly finding out about her though. According to Jason, Carly was a bit of a busybody. But she needed to see Jason. She was desperate. She was about to leave when Kemen walked in to her room.

"I have good news mi subió" he said.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I just finished your job for you. I got Jason Morgan"

"No" she gasped.

* * *

A/N: Oh no? What will happen to Jason? Review to find out. 


	5. The Plot Thickens

A/N: Alrighty, this is it. My self esteem just can not take any more hits. Soooo... this will be the final chapter. And I'm not gonna lie to you, this does not tie everything up. I have, like, 3 more chapters written and those don't even finish up the story. However, I am willing to write and post more to the story. All I need is one stinking review. More than one would be fantastic. If i get 5 reviews, I'll go crazy with happiness. But let's face it- that's just wishful thinking. And, if no one likes it, then thats cool too. If no one actually reads this story, that's perfectly fine with me. I'm just not gonna waste time writing it. I'll write something more couple oriented. Some Jasam or Journey. Maybe one of both. I like balance. So, anyway, here we go...**

* * *

****Chapter 5- The Plot Thickens**

She got out of the shower and blow dried her hair. She slipped into a black tube top with dark jeans and black high healed sandals with a little bit of sparkle. She put on her favorite diamond hoop earrings, and a brilliant blue necklace. She flawlessly applied her makeup. She was going to visit Jason. Sonny Corinthos didn't know who she was, so it wouldn't be a big deal if she should show up at Jason's penthouse. She knew Jason didn't want Sonny or his wife Carly finding out about her though. According to Jason, Carly was a bit of a busybody. But she needed to see Jason. She was desperate. She was about to leave when Kemen walked in to her room.

"I have good news mi subió" he said.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I just finished your job for you. I got Jason Morgan"

"No" she gasped. "You killed Jason?"

"Well, that was the original plan. But instead, we decided to just take him back here and keep him in the catacombs. We can use him to get to Corinthos" said Kemen

"You have no right to be doing my job" said Serena, a little bit relieved that Jason wasn't dead, but still angry that he was being held against his will.

"We always help each other out, what's wrong with that?" asked Kemen.

"This was my target" she said. "God, why does everybody think I need help?"

"We don't. We all just worry about you. Especially with getting Morgan. You have never had this much trouble getting your mark"

"Whatever. I want to guard him. If I couldn't have at least captured him, I want to be able to make sure he doesn't get away"

"Fine, but I have to tell you, it's going to be boring. Uncle Basilio had him beaten up a little, but other than that, Morgan's just been sitting there. He isn't struggling at all"

"Alright, then I'll bring a magazine"

"Fine, your choice" he said, walking out and leaving her alone.

Serena was so relieved that he wasn't dead. But still, Jason was being kept in the catacombs. The catacombs weren't really catacombs. It was really just an intricate basement system on their compound. But they were so dark, depressing, and musty, that Serena had named them the catacombs. She got out a somewhat large Prada bag, and filled it with towels. She knew that Jason would be pretty bruised and beaten from her Uncle. Uncle Basilio was really Adrian's Uncle, and Armando's brother, but she and Kemen still called him Uncle. Armando loved her and Kemen, but Basilio, a bitter man, hated her. He thought she was trash, and that she was using his nephew. Of course, Armando was in charge, so he couldn't take action against her, but if it was up to Basilio, she would be out on the streets along with her brother, both banished from the Sandoval family. Serena went into the kitchen and got some ice which she put in a plastic bag, and then put it in the purse. She also got some food, making one of her famous sandwiches. Even a sandwich was made complicated by her. She always added spices and special sauces. She was a good cook. She had inherited that Spanish stereotype. She also got two big water bottles. She put a magazine in the bag, covering the food, towels, and ice. She grabbed the bag and water bottles and walked down to the catacombs.

Kemen was waiting for her.

"See, I brought entertainment **and **water" she said holding up the bag and water bottles.

"I see that" said Kemen, slightly amused. Kemen turned to the guard standing by the door and explained to him that Serena would be taking care of the prisoner. All the guards knew Serena could kick all their asses, and that not even Morgan would be a match for her, so he shrugged it off, happy to have the afternoon off. After making sure both Kemen and the guard were gone, Serena unlocked the door to Jason's cell.

Jason's head was pounding. His whole body hurt from Sandoval treating him like a punching bag. He knew that Serena was his only hope. He heard the key in the lock turn and he prayed for Serena. But he knew it wouldn't be her. She needed to keep up appearances for her husband. She needed to pretend like she didn't care about Jason. He had a feeling it was Sandoval, coming back to beat him up again. His heart swelled with happiness as he saw her familiar face.

"Oh Jason" she said, running over to him. He was chained to the wall by short chains around his wrists, so he wasn't able to move much. He was still able to nearly put his hands on her face though as she pressed her lips against his, the two kissing with passion.

"I am so sorry that they did this to you. Are you ok?" she asked.

"I'm fine" he said.

"Good" she responded, getting up to close the door.

"Are those for me?" he asked motioning to the water bottles. "My throat is so sore"

"Of course they are" she said uncapping one of the water bottles and holding it to his parched lips so that he could drink.

"Headache?" she asked him

"Yeah" he said. "Your husband's men had to knock me out to get me here"

"I figured as much. Here, take this" she said digging into her bag and pulling out a container of Advil. She took out two pills and put them in Jason's mouth before giving him more water.

"Thanks" he said once he swallowed them.

"I also have food, but let me take care of your bruises and cuts first before this ice melts" she said pulling out the bag of ice.

Jason couldn't help but laugh out loud at this. "You must have Mary Poppins' bag" he said.

"How do you know about Mary Poppins, Jason Morgan? Are you a closet Disney Movie fan?"

"No, I watched it once with my nephews and niece" he said as she gave him a skeptical look. "I swear" he said with another laugh.

"Alright, I believe you" she said as she put the ice in one of the towels and then held it to a developing bruise on his cheek. With her other hand, she put some Neosporin on a large gash on his forehead and gently blew on it to stop the stinging feeling Jason was feeling. She then pulled out a liquid band aid and applied it to the wound.

"We can't use a regular bandage, they would know I took care of you" she explained. The liquid band aid was clear, and it didn't look like he had anything covering the gash. She then took more ice and held it to his black and blue eye. It was comfortable, having her take care of him. Jason's stomach growled, prompting Serena to say "let's get some food into you".

She fed him the sandwich and some other food she had brought down. Of all the times he was kidnapped and held, this was certainly the best. It was also certainly the best sandwich he had ever had. After he ate, Serena leaned back into his chest, and the two just sat there for a bit.

"How are we going to get you out of here?" she asked him

"I don't know. I guess you breaking me out would be a little too obvious"

"A little. I just don't know what to do. I'm afraid for you Jason. I'm afraid that Basilio is going to hurt you, or kill you. And I can't let that happen. I love you"

"I know, I love you too. How 'bout we focus on you buying me some time until we can think of a plan. Just don't let him kill me"

"Alright. I don't think they plan on giving you food or water either, so I'll bring you both"

"Thanks" he said, bending down to kiss her cheek, letting his lips linger on her skin.

"Anything special you want?"

"Anything you make is perfect" he said kissing her again.

"Serena?" called Adrian as he walked down the stairs

"Shit" said Serena as she threw everything back in the bag. She got up just as the door opened, and she lightly kicked Jason, trying to make it look like the kick had been hard.  
"See Mr. Morgan, you shouldn't judge a person simply based on gender. You're my prisoner now"

"Mr. Morgan giving you trouble?" asked Adrian. He backhanded Jason across the face, and Serena winced as he did, as if he had hit her.

"I'm sorry. I love you" she mouthed at him as Adrian hit him again.

Jason's eyes did the talking for him. They told Serena that he understood, and that he loved her too.

"Come on Adrian, don't waste your energy" she said, pulling him back.

"Your right, I want to save my energy for my night with you" he said kissing her.

Hearing that and watching them kiss hurt Jason more than any of his cuts and bruises. But Adrian was the husband, and he was just the other man. He couldn't do anything about that. He watched Adrian lead Serena away, and another guard soon came to the door. He figured Serena would be busy the whole night, so he was glad she had brought him a big lunch. These guys definitely planned on making his stay with them as uncomfortable as they could, and that included no food or water.

* * *

Jason fell into an uneasy sleep leaning up against the wall. He dreamed of being on a beach somewhere with Serena. They were laying on the sand as the hot sun beat down on them, warming their bodies. She rolled over on top of him and started kissing him. Jason became vaguely aware of the fact that someone was kissing him. His eyes fluttered open and he found Serena waking him with gentle kisses. 

"Hi" he said

"Hi" she said back

"I didn't think you'd come back tonight" he said

"Nothing's keeping me from you" she said

"What about Adrian?"

She shrugged. "He thinks I'm taking a walk or something. I do that sometimes. Anyway, you're shivering" she said as she rubbed his arms, trying to warm him.

"Yeah, this place gets pretty cold"

"Here" she said. "Hot chocolate". She held the mug up to his mouth and he gratefully drank the hot liquid. She also brought him more food, and he gladly ate.

"Hey, how did you get in here in the first place?" he asked her. "Isn't there a guard?"

"Secret passages" she said motioning to a part of the wall which was open. "I'd use them to sneak you out, but their not a secret to anyone whose last name is Sandoval"

"Damn"

"I know. Oops, sorry" she said as she dropped some of the soup she was spoon feeding him all over him. She grabbed a napkin and cleaned him up.

"I wish I could get my arms to reach my mouth" he said pulling on the chains on his wrists.

"I know baby, and I'm so sorry" she said

"It's not your fault" he said.

"Yes, it is. I should have thought of a better plan. I should have known that if I didn't kill you, someone else would. I should have known Kemen would want to help. If only I told them that I did kill you"

"That wouldn't have worked. They would have figured it out, and then you would have been in big trouble" he said.

"I guess" she said with a sigh.

"Hey, it'll be ok" he reassured her

"I hope your right" she said as she kissed him.

She had to go that night, but for the next week she visited Jason at least three times a day. For now, their plan was going fine. But then, one day, Armando called her into his office.

* * *

"Hola Papi" she said bending down to kiss her father-in law on his cheek. 

"Buenas dias, Hermosa" he responded.

"What is it that you need?" she asked as she settled down into his big leather couch next to him.

"The plan is not working. Corinthos isn't taking the bait. He still has no idea where our compound is, and he will never find it, but he insists on looking for it. He thinks he can save his friend. We need to destroy him if we want his territory. We need to go ahead and kill Jason Morgan"

"How is killing Jason going to destroy Sonny?" asked Serena, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

"Without Jason, Sonny will fall apart. He's his best friend. He'll be in pain long enough for us to swoop in"

"I don't know about this"

"Hermosa, when have you ever had reservations about doing something like this before?" he asked her

"I haven't. I just..."

"I want you to be the one to do it" he said

"What" she questioned

"Morgan was your mark, not your brother's, not Adrian's, not Basilio's. You should be the one to have the honor of killing him"

"Thank you Papi" she said as she kissed him again. "I'll do it, but I want it to be perfect" she said getting up and walking to the door.

"Of course" said Armando

"And Armando" she said, turning around. "Your right, this is my mark. I need your word that no one is going to take this away from me and get to him before I can"

"Of course not Serena" he said with a smile. "You have my word that no one else touches him"

* * *

Serena leaned back against the now closed door. She had actually thanked her father-in-law for giving her the chance to kill her lover. But at least she bought Jason time. She knew what she had to do. She knew that this would change everything. But she had to do it.

* * *

A/N: Thank's to anyone who reviews and wants me to continue. I even accept anonymous reviews, so you don't even have to reveal your name or anything. For those of you who are reading, but have reviewophobia and can't manage to drop a line, I hope you liked the story. Whether or not you did, I'll never know, because YOU DON'T REVIEW! (Sorry, rage blackouts). Review if you want to find out just what it is that Serena has to do.


	6. But I Love Him

A/N: Hey guys! I did it! I got my one review. Actually, two of them- both from my new bestest friend Serena. And it was so inspiring, that I sat down and shot out three more chapters of this story. Now, I was planning on waiting for more reviews, but then I decided nah. I really, really wanted to update. So, I'm posting this chapter, but that's it. I refuse to post any more until I get five reviews from five new and different people. In the meantime, if you review my story and leave an email adress, I'll send you spoilers for the next chapter. So, here we go. Remember guys-you have to review! I think this is the most pathetic story on the whole board in terms of reviews. It's pitiful. So please, please, please, review- if only for my sanity. Thanks and happy reading!

**

* * *

Chapter 6- But I Love Him **

Serena leaned back against the now closed door. She had actually thanked her father-in-law for giving her the chance to kill her lover. But at least she bought Jason time. She knew what she had to do. She knew that this would change everything. But she had to do it.

* * *

She took the elevator up to the penthouses before stepping off into the hallway. She walked up to the door and saw a guard standing in front of it. 

"Are you Max?" she asked, remembering Jason telling her about him

"Yes, I am, and who are you?"

"I am a person who desperately needs to speak to Sonny Corinthos"

"I'm sorry but I can't let you do that"

"Please, it's an emergency. A man's life is at risk here"

"And would that man be Jason Morgan"

"I am not at the liberty to say" she said.

Max studied her. Her face had fallen dramatically when he mentioned Jason. He vaguely remembered talk of Jason having a secret girlfriend. Could this be the girl?

"I'm not supposed to this-" started Max. Serena knew what she had to do. It would piss Corinthos off, but she was desperate. She reached into her purse for her gun, but Max chose that moment to finish his sentence "but I can make an exception. How should I announce you?" he asked

"Serena Martinez" she said using her maiden name as she removed her hand from her purse, allowing the gun to drop back in.

Max announced her and she walked in.

"How can I help you Ms. Martinez?" asked Sonny

"Please call me Serena, Mr. Corinthos"

"Alright, then call me Sonny. Now, what is it that you need to talk to me about?"

"Mr. Corin- Sonny, this is important. But I need your word that no one will get hurt before I tell you what I need to"

"That's a lot to promise. Somebody always gets hurt"

"I know they do. But I care deeply for everyone who is involved. And if you can't promise me this, then I can't tell you what I need to tell you. And I'll have to find another way"

"I can promise you that I will not intentionally hurt anyone"

"Thank you"

"Now, tell me what it is that you know"

"I know where Jason Morgan is"

"How do you even know Jason?"

"We've been seeing each other for the past month or so. We've fallen in love"

"I see" said Sonny. He didn't seem surprised

"But the important part is how we met. I was the shooter sent to kill him. I was supposed to take him out. But something happened. We just couldn't kill each other. And we fell in love"

Sonny seemed surprised at this. This was the shooter who had been torturing his family? He was angry at first at Jason for not telling him that it was all ok, and no one was going to die. But then he realized why Jason did what he did. He loved this girl, and he wanted to protect her. Then, suddenly a thought hit him. This girl said she cared about everyone who was involved.

"How are you connected to the Sandoval's?"

"My husband is Adriano Sandoval" she said, looking down at her feet.

Sonny froze, needing to take a minute to process all of this. Jason was sleeping with a married woman? A woman whose husband was one of their biggest enemies?

"So your Armando Sandoval's daughter-in-law?" he asked.

"Yes. And Armando wants me to kill Jason. But I can't do it Sonny. I love him. But if I break him out, then everyone will know about us. And if they find out, Adrian will kill us both. There's no fighting him once he wants something. But if you break him out…"

"How do you expect me to do that?"

"I'll show you where the compound is. I'll draw you a map of the place and show you where all the guards are stationed and exactly where they're holding Jason. I can even show you secret passageway, but I should warn you, my whole family knows about them, and they may not be the safest route"

"Alright, whatever we need to do to save Jason, we'll do" said Sonny.

* * *

Serena had spent an hour at Sonny's, giving him exact directions. He had promised not to kill anyone, but Serena described Basilio and said that she wouldn't mind if he got "accidentally shot". Sonny immediately liked the girl. She was strong and feisty. Stronger and feistier than any other girl Jason ever dated. Serena was in the middle of showing Sonny exactly where each guard was when Carly walked into the penthouse. 

"Who the hell are you?" asked Carly when she saw this beautiful girl reaching over her husband's body to point to something.

"This is an associate of mine Carly" said Sonny

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize your associates wore such short skirts" she said

"Carly, this is Serena, and she'll be helping me in finding Jason"

"What, is she sleeping with him or something" Carly scoffed. Her face changed as she realized what she said was true. "Your Jason's secret girlfriend?" she asked

"I guess you could say that" said Serena

"Well, she's certainly no Courtney" Carly stage whispered to Sonny.

"Carly, please go upstairs" said a frustrated Sonny.

"Whatever" said Carly as she walked up the stair case.

"I'm sorry about her" said Sonny

"It's ok. She's right though. I can't give him what Courtney could. I mean, I'm married to his enemy for crying out loud"

"And Courtney was married to his brother. But that didn't stop him from falling in love with her"

"Carly doesn't think I'm good enough for Jason" she said sadly. "And according to Jason, Carly is the best judge of these things"

"Don't worry about Carly" said Sonny. "Give her a chance to get to know you, and she'll see what Jason sees. She just has an attachment to Courtney"

"I guess. But let's just focus on saving Jason" she said, getting back to the map.

* * *

Serena finally made it back to the Sandoval compound. She hurried down to Jason to tell him about her plan. 

"Hey there" he said.

"What happened?" she asked, noticing he had new bruises on his face.

"Your uncle came down and we 'talked'"

"I can tell" she said as she gently touched one of the bruises. "Does it hurt a lot?" she asked.

"It's not that bad" he said as she kissed each bruise. "Now its better" he said a little love-sick.

She smiled at him and kissed his lips. But her expression soon turned somber.

"Jason, I need to tell you something"

"What is it?"

"Armando wants me to kill you. He gave me the orders"

"You're not going to. Right?"

"What do you think? Of course I'm not. But-and don't be mad- I didn't know what to do so I went to Sonny"

"Really? What was his reaction to who you were?" asked Jason, although he didn't seem surprised.

"He was a little taken aback that I was a Sandoval, but he got over it when I told him that I loved you. I actually think he likes me. I wish I could say the same for his wife"

"Carly's tough. But she'll come around"

"That's what Sonny said. But anyway, I told him everything, and showed him how to get to you, so I expect at any minute he'll come barging in here"

"That's good" said Jason. "But I'm going to miss your cooking" he said

"I'll cook for you when you're not being kept prisoner also, don't worry" she said. "But I have to go and distract my family so Sonny can do it. They can't know about us"

"Alright. I love you" he said

"I love you too" she answered and she leaned in for a kiss.

Their lips had just met when the door flung open. Serena turned and saw Basilio standing there.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" he asked

Adriano, Armando, and Kemen were right behind him. They were shocked to see the scene they saw.

"Serena, what are you doing?" asked Adriano

"Adrian, wait, I can explain" she said

"You mean you can explain that you've been sleeping with this guy?" he said

"Please, Adrian, I love him" she said, but she couldn't say more as his hand reached out and slapped her across the face. Her cheek burned from the hit, but she knew that she deserved it. Jason struggled against his chains, yelling at Adrian that he shouldn't be hitting her.

"Your right, I should be hitting you" said Adrian as he punched Jason.

"How could you do this Serena?" asked Armando. "How could you betray your family?"

"It's easy for her. I warned you she was just a little slut" said Basilio.

"Basilio, you kill Morgan. We'll deal with this one later" said Armando looking down on Serena. He turned and walked out. He truly loved Serena as a daughter, and he couldn't believe she would do such a thing.

"Please, please don't kill him" she begged, throwing her body in front of Jason's.

Basilio snapped his fingers, and a group of guards came in.

"Restrain her" he told them, and three guards came at her. Despite her trying to fight them off, they managed to get a grip on her and hold her back.

"Kemen, please help!" she cried

"Serena, you betrayed your family. How do you expect me to help you?" he asked her.

"She needs to pay for what she's done. I say we kill her" said Basilio

"No!" cried Jason, Kemen, and Adrian.

"She is still my wife. And I love her. I will not let you kill her Uncle" said Adrian.

He looked at the guards, and they restrained both Kemen and Adrian.

"She will suffer for her betrayal" said Basilio as everyone fought to stop him. "Hold out her hand" he commanded the guards, and the guards took her left hand, holding it on the table behind them. "I think we should cut those rings off of her fingers, and then kill her" said Basilio as he took a large knife out of his belt.

"No!" cried Serena as she tried to struggle out of the guards' grasps. Basilio punched her, and she was flung backwards, into the wall, despite the guards holding her. Her head began to bleed, as did her nose.

"Uncle, don't hurt her!" yelled Adrian

"Shut up my mindless nephew. This woman is not your wife. She's his whore" he said.

Everyone was yelling, trying to stop Basilio. He had the knife inches from her finger, and she screamed and wriggled. Adrian looked away, Jason struggled to get to her, and Kemen tried everything he could to get the guards off of him. He raised the knife, and was about to bring it down. All the sudden, a gun shot was heard. All Serena could see was red. Blood red.

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A/N: Alright, you know the deal. Review, review, and review some more. That is, if you want to find out exactly what happened. And, feel free to drop me a line at cookiecrazyy85 (it's a yahoo account) but leave a note on this website too. All of the other stories are making fun of my story for it's lack of reviews. It's the skinny kid with glasses on the playground. Pity it. Please. :( 


	7. New Life

A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for all your great reviews. Alrighty, there is a lot I have to say. I have decided to make some changes to the town of Port Charles. Not all of them are going to have an affect on my story immediately, but most of my changes will show up in the next handful of chapters. First off- character changes: Lila is not dead, Durant is the DA even though the kidnapping never took place in my story, Ric is just not here, think what you want about his whereabouts. My story isn't going to focus on him, or Alexis, or Kristina, sorry to their fans. Alrighty, I think that covers the character changes. Also see chapter 1 for more. Other changes include the Corinthos' living situation. If you couldn't tell by the last chapter, they still live at the Harborview Towers, across the hall from Jason. K, enough changes. Keep reading...

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Chapter 7- New Life **

Everyone was yelling, trying to stop Basilio. He had the knife inches from her finger, and she screamed and wriggled. Adrian looked away, Jason tried to move, and Kemen tried everything he could to get the guards off of him. He raised the knife, and was about to bring it down. All the sudden, a gun shot was heard. All Serena could see was red. Blood red.

Basilio crumbled on to the floor, dropping the knife. Everyone looked to the door to see Sonny standing there, his gun still smoking.

"Sonny, thank god" Serena cried.

"Are you ok?" he asked

"Yeah, I'm fine" she said

"Let her go" said Sonny to the guards. Sonny was armed, and they weren't, but they weren't about to defy Basilio's orders. Well they debated what to do; Serena kicked one of the guards in the shin. In their surprise, they all let go of her, and she flipped one on his back. She bent down and quickly pulled Basilio's gun out of his belt. She aimed it at the other guards, clearly daring them to try anything.

"Drop them too" she said to the guards holding Adrian and Kemen.

"Serena, is that a good idea?" asked Jason looking wearily at Adrian

"He won't hurt me Jason, don't worry" she said

"How do you know that Serena? You're my wife, and you were sleeping around" said Adrian

"Adrian, I didn't mean for this to happen"

"Did you ever love me?"

"Yes. I loved you since I met you. But things change. Feelings change. People change."

"Let me go" said Adrian to the guards. Once they dropped him he turned to Serena and said "I'm giving you 5 minutes to get you and your new family out of my house, or I will kill you" he said

"Thank you" she said, but it only came out as a whisper.

The guards also released Kemen. He too started walking upstairs, stepping over Basilio's dead, bleeding body.

"Where are you going Kemen?" she asked

"I'm going upstairs. Away from this"

"We need to get away Kem; we need to get out of here"

"I'm not going anywhere with you Serena. I don't even know who you are anymore" he said as he walked away.

Serena looked so sad. Her only blood family, the guy who had raised her, had turned his back on her. He didn't care about her in his anger. Serena knew she didn't have time to focus on this though. She was Serena Sandoval, hit woman and killer. She wasn't supposed to show her emotions, just like Jason wasn't supposed to show his. She would just have to pretend like it was all ok.

Meanwhile, Sonny had taken Basilio's keys and unlocked Jason. Jason rubbed his wrists which were sore from a week of having chains around them.

"Are you ok?" asked Serena, turning to him and hugging him.

"I'm ok. You?"

"I'm fine. Let's just get out of here" she said.

* * *

They were at Jason's penthouse. Serena's new home. She couldn't believe that just hours ago she had lost everything that she had once held so dearly. She was sitting on the couch, trying to stay strong. Jason looked at her. He was afraid for her. He knew what it was to sink in to your shell, to try and hide from everyone. In more ways than one, Serena was the female version of him. He sat down on the couch next to her and passed her a glass of water. She took a tentative sip, but then put the glass down on the coffee table, afraid that if she ate or drank anything she would throw up. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Finally, she let it all out. She sobbed into his chest as he rubbed her back and stroked her hair. He gave her little kisses on the top of her head and whispered comforting words in her ear. 

"I guess my marriage is over" she said with a painful little laugh once she stopped crying. She wiped a tear from her eyes and removed the rings from her finger. "And to think, all Basilio needed to do was ask for the rings back"

"Basilio is dead; he's not going to hurt us anymore"

"I know," she said, "but it doesn't make what happened today any easier. I lost my whole family. What hurts the most is that Kemen didn't even support me"

"I'm sorry baby" said Jason. He knew how much Kemen meant to her. She had told him all about her childhood during one late night meeting.

She eventually cried herself to sleep that night in his arms, lying on the couch. He reached over and pulled a blanket off the chair next to them to cover them in, but Serena stirred.

"Hey, shh, go back to sleep" whispered Jason.

"No, come on, let's go upstairs. I want us to be able to spend our first night together in the same bed. We've waited so long, I don't think I can last any more" she said sleepily, her eyes still shut.

"Ok, come on" he said as he got up with her still in his arms. He was about to carry her upstairs when she stopped him.

"I can walk Jason, I'm not helpless" she said, yet her eyes still had yet to open

"I know, but I like to hold you in my arms" he said, and she tiredly agreed. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he carried her up the stairs. He gently placed her in the bed, and undressed her. He slipped one of his t-shirts over her head and she smiled in her half-asleep state, glad to have his smell on her. He stripped down to his boxers and got into bed next to her. She cuddled up on his chest, and he held her tightly in his arms.

"I love you" she whispered

"I love you too" he said, kissing her.

* * *

The next morning, Serena was disappointed to wake up to a cold bed. She rolled over and read a note from him. It simply read that he would be back soon, and that he loved her. She sighed. How many times had she written the same note to Adrian? She got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. Her hair was a mess. She looked around for a spare hairbrush or toothbrush, but saw nothing, Figuring Jason would be weirded out if she shared his toothbrush, she opened the tube of toothpaste and used her finger, deciding she would need to go shopping. Which reminded her of another thing- clothes. Jason's shirt came down to the top of her thighs, just long enough to cover her butt. She couldn't walk around in it all day long. She sighed when she heard a knock on the door. She walked downstairs and opened the door. To her dismay, the person on the other side was Carly. 

"Yes?" she asked

"Can I come in?" asked Carly

"Look Carly, I had a rough night, and I really can not handle you telling me that I'm trash, and that I'm not as good as Courtney right now, ok? So I'll give you a call when I'm happy again so you can bring me down."

"I'm not here to insult you, believe me. I just wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday. Sonny told me everything. And I'm sorry. That sounds like the most difficult decision a person can make. And I guess I'm just worried that someone's going to come and take Jason away from me. But Sonny and I, we're on track now, and as much as I hate to admit it, I just want Jason to be happy."

"Thank you" she said, taken aback that Carly was apologizing. It seemed so out of character for her. At least based on what Jason had told her. "Would you like to come in?" she asked, stepping back from the door so Carly could enter.

"Thanks" said Carly as the girls sat on the couch.

Vaguely aware of her lack of clothes, Serena pulled the blanket over her legs.

"I don't want to be enemies with you. In fact, I'd like to be friends. I know how loyal Jason is to Sonny, and to you, and I don't want to cause a rift between anyone" said Serena.

"Believe me, Jason is loyal. He'd rip out his heart for Sonny. He has before"

"You mean with Courtney?" asked Serena, looking down.

"Yeah" said Carly softly

"Sonny seemed to like me. And you don't seem to hate me. And that's a good thing. I think" she said.

"I don't hate you. In fact, I'm starting to like you. And Sonny likes you. Despite your family. Jason was worried about that. And I can tell you are too"

"I just don't want him to dump me on Sonny's orders. If he's going to dump me, I want it to be for his reasons, and his reasons only"

"Jason's not going to be dumping you because of Sonny or because of anything, believe me" said Carly

"What do you mean?" asked Serena

"I overheard him and Sonny talking this morning. Jason barged right in, and gave Sonny this whole speech about how he knows he betrayed Sonny by falling in love with you, but he can't rip out his heart again. He had his defense shields up and ready for action. He knew Sonny was going to order him away from you, but he wasn't about to take it. For once in his life, Jason was standing up to Sonny. And Sonny cut him off, mid-speech, saying that he wouldn't ask Jason to do that again. He gave you guys his blessing"

"Seriously?" she asked

"Seriously" said Carly, a big smile on her face. Despite the feeling in the pit of her stomach that Jason and Courtney were meant to be together, she was accepting of Jason's new relationship. She was so happy with Sonny, and for once, she was willing to share her happiness. She was willing to let Jason be happy too.

In her excitement over being accepted, Serena flung her arms around Carly's neck and hugged her. A slightly taken aback Carly hugged her back, secretly forming a plan in her head to be this girl's new sister. Ever since Jax had entered Courtney's life, Court had less and less time for Carly. Now, Carly would get that sister she always wanted in Serena.

"Hey, Jason mentioned you like shopping. You wanna come with me to get me all new stuff? I don't see myself walking back into the Sandoval house to get my things" Serena asked Carly, breaking her from her thoughts.

"Already taken care of" said Carly

"What do you mean?" asked Serena

"I checked your size, and we had clothes, shoes, jewelry, everything sent over from my favorite stores. Feel free to exchange any of it you don't like"

"That's sweet, but you didn't have to do that" said Serena.

"Don't worry about it, it's a little apology gift"

"Alright, just send me the bill, ok?" she said

"Sorry, but Jason's already taken care of that"

"Carly, please. I don't need Jason taking care of me. I have plenty of money myself. I do the same thing Jason does, remember?" she said

"Talk to Jason about this one. But I doubt he'll give in" said Carly

"What won't I give in to?" asked Jason walking in with a bag from Kelly's. "I come bearing breakfast. I figured you didn't want to cook, and I can't, so this was much easier"

"Thanks. And you won't give in to me not wanting you to make me your mob girlfriend"

"K, I'm gonna go" said Carly as the situation got awkward. She walked out and whispered 'good luck' to Jason as she passed him.

Once she was gone, Jason asked her what she meant by 'mob girlfriend'.

"Jase, I don't need you paying for everything for me. I don't need you protecting me, and I certainly don't need you keeping tabs on me. Adrian never did, Kemen never did, no one ever did. And I am certainly not about to let you"

"I don't intend on doing that to you. But Serena, I want to watch over you"

"Jason, I don't need anyone to watch over me. I got you down on the ground that night at the docks, remember that?"

"How could I forget, I fell in love that night" he said with a smile

"And another thing, no more of those 'smooth guy' lines. Talk to me without the charm" she said, trying to act angry. But she couldn't control the smile that had crept up on to her face.

"Alright, let's compromise. You let me pay for this stuff initially" he said as she started to protest. He held up his hands and said "money shouldn't matter to us, so this doesn't matter either. Just think of it as a gift."

"Fine" she said, "but I don't see the compromise"

"I'll let you get involved with my business. You can work with me. And we'll watch over each other"

"Fine" she said defeatedly. "But it's only cause I can't resist you when you look into my eyes like that" she said as she encircled her arms around his waist

"I know" he said as he hugged her back, earning himself a light slap to the arm.

"You can do me one favor though" she said.

"What's that?" he asked

"Help me get a good divorce lawyer?" she asked

He smiled at her and said "of course".

* * *

He walked into the penthouse after a long day, eager to see Serena. It was nice coming home to her every day. She had decided to take some time off from the business and settle in to her new life. She had started to form a great friendship with Carly, despite her initial misgivings about the woman. 

As Jason walked in, he saw her bent over paper work.

"What's that?" he asked her as he bent down to kiss her.

She returned the kiss and then held up the papers and said "divorce papers"

"Ah" said Jason, unsure of what else to say in this kind of situation. "How they coming?" he asked.

"Fine I guess. I'm having some trouble though. No where under grounds for divorce does it say 'husband's uncle kidnapped wife's boyfriend, tried to cut wife's finger off, and then had the intentions of killing her'. I guess I'll just go with the age old 'irreconcilable differences'. If it'll work for Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, it'll work for me" she said as she got back to filling out the forms. He smiled at her and then walked into the kitchen. He grabbed them both beers and handed her one.

"I'm guessing you don't want to cook tonight"

"I'll cook for you if you want"

"It's ok, you seem tired. We'll get takeout" he said as he kissed her again.

"Thank you" she said. She got up out of the desk chair and the two sat on the couch together.

After they called in the take out, Serena laid back on Jason's chest.

"This is nice" she said

"Yeah, it is" said Jason, completely content for the first time in a long time. But Serena did that to him.

"I love you" she said.

"I love you too" he said as he kissed the top of her head.

They were disrupted by a knock on the door.

"That must be the food. It was certainly quick" she said as she got up to get the door.

She opened it, and her eyes widened at who she saw. She quickly slammed the door and turned to a confused Jason. "Or not".

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A/N: Who's at the door? Hmmm, looks like you need to review to find out! I got some great reviews last time, most from Serena. Thanks also to Tabitha and Melanie for their great reviews. Although I didn't get five reviews from five brand new people, I updated anyway. So, this time I refuse to update until I get one review from each of you three, plus three new reviews. And I plan to stick to this. Plus, leave an email adress and I'll email you spoilers. Thanks again guys! 


	8. Kemen and the City

A/N: Howdy doody people! I'm glad I got some more reviews- it makes me happy! I've started a new story, called _Trust_, and it's journey, so go read that also if your a journey fan! I've gotten a lot of reviews for that, but its because its journey, and an OC with Jason is definitly more of a risk and less likely to get reviews. However, I will be focusing on updating that one for a while, so expect longer waiting time for updates with this one. Anyway, keep reading and have a good time...**

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**Chapter 8- **Kemen and the City

"That must be the food. It was certainly quick" she said as she got up to get the door.

She opened it, and her eyes widened at who she saw. She quickly slammed the door and turned to a confused Jason. "Or not".

"Who is it?" asked Jason as he got off the couch.

"It was no one" she said, as she tried to block the door so he couldn't open it. He picked her up underneath her elbows and moved her over so that he could get to the door. She didn't fight him as he did this, knowing that he would find out who it was eventually. He pulled back the door, expecting the worst. To his surprise, he came face to face with Kemen. He looked the man over. He was covered in black and blues, and he was bleeding from various cuts and scrapes.

"What happened to you?" Jason asked him.

"Can I come in?" asked Kemen

"Ah, sure" said Jason, moving away from the door.

Jason watched Serena's expression. She glared at Jason at first, and then turned to Kemen. She was looking at him like she was about to cut out a kidney. She seemed just a tad bit mad that he had showed up.

"Serena-" he started

"Don't" she said holding one hand up. "I know exactly what happened here. You chose the Sandoval's over me, and in their anger over my little… infidelity, one of them beat the crap out of you. And you thought you'd come here and expect me to welcome you with open arms. Well, that's not going to happen. You turned your back on me, and I'm going to turn my back on you" she said.

"Serena, come on. We have supported each other from the beginning. You and I only had each other and now-"

"I don't want to hear it. Get out" she said, cutting him off.

"Can I talk to you in the kitchen? Now!" asked Jason as he easily picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

He walked into the kitchen and put her down so that she was sitting on the counter. Their faces were inches apart and she had her arms wrapped around his neck. His hands rested on her thighs.

"I can't let you do this" said Jason.

"Do what?" she asked with a sigh.

"Turn your brother away. I know how much he means to you. I know that you're all he's got. And you and I both know that if you don't help him, the guilt will consume you"

"Guilt sucks" she said with a pout.

"I know" he said, smiling at her.

"Alright, fine. And I'm guessing because you want me to help him, you're alright with him staying here until he can get his own place?"

"If you didn't suggest it, I was going to"

"Woo-hoo" she said sarcastically

"I know that he hurt you, but he you need to remember that he was in a bit of shock. We did kind of drop a big bomb on everyone that day"

"I know, you're right. As usual" she said with another sigh.

"I do like being right" he said with a smile

"Ahah" she said as she kissed him to shut him up.

The kiss deepened, but then Kemen walked in.

"Woah, that's my little sister dude" he said to Jason.

"Sorry" said Jason as he broke away from Serena. She brushed her lips against his once more, and he felt the compulsive need to hold her and kiss her some more. But he restrained himself for Kemen's sake.

"So we talked" said Serena to Kemen, "and we decided that you should stay here until you can sort everything out"

"Thanks hermana"

"It's the least I can do. You did raise me" she said

"I love you mi subió" he said

"I love you too" she said as she hopped off the counter and hugged Kemen.

Jason left the siblings hugging as he walked upstairs to get the guest room in order.

* * *

Kemen had settled into his new life. He had been staying in the guest room of the penthouse for about a month now. In this time, Serena had gotten closer with the Corinthos family, and Michael and Morgan basically regarded her as their aunt. Serena had also become quick friends with Emily and Liz, despite Carly's ant-Liz sentiment. Kemen had also become closer with everyone, and Sonny and Jason even gave him a job. Life was content for everyone involved. Serena's divorce papers had even come through. She was officially a single woman again. The Sandoval's hadn't tried to hurt them in any way. It had been Adrian who had beat up Kemen, but once he got his anger out, he was done. He still loved Serena, and was desperate to get her back, but he knew there was no way in hell that he could. He refused to let his father kill her; his love for her was far too strong. Morgan was a different story. But not yet. For now, Jason could hold on to his life.

* * *

Carly walked into the happy couple's room. She smiled as she looked at them, so peaceful in bed. Jason was shirtless, and his bare chest was covered only by Serena's head resting on it. Jason had his arms wrapped tightly around her. It looked like he was afraid that if he let go, she would disappear. But by the looks of Serena's arms all over Jason, it was obvious that she wasn't going anywhere. Carly had half a mind to leave them sleeping in their peaceful, lovey state. However, she had to do what she needed to do. She raised the fog horn and pressed on it. A loud screech was emitted from it, waking the sleeping lovebirds. Jason shot up, reaching instinctively to the end table for his gun, and Serena gave a little gasp and rolled over, and fell on to the floor, also trying to grab her gun at the same time. 

"Gee, paranoid much?" asked Carly

"Carly! What the hell?" cried Serena as she tried to untangle herself from the mess of blankets on the floor. Seeing her struggle, Jason climbed over and tried to help her.

"Serena! Do you not know what today is?" asked Carly

"Friday?" questioned a still disoriented Serena. At this point, Jason had managed to untangle her and the two climbed back into the bed, all cuddled up.

"Well it is true that today is Friday, it is also… shopping day!"

"Carly, everyday is shopping day with you" said Jason as he closed his eyes. Serena followed his lead and the two fell back into a half asleep state.

Carly sighed and pulled the blankets off, causing the two to whine and groan.

"Today is a special day. Come on Serena, we're going down to the city, remember? Girl's road trip?"

"Oh yeah. I forgot. Come get me in 15 minutes" said Serena, her eyes still closed.

"Alright" said Carly as she pretended to walk out. Hearing her fake footsteps, Serena was content that she had left. Carly waited a second, and then blew the fog horn again.

"15 minutes are up" said Carly with a bright smile.

Serena whined that she should go away and she pulled the pillow over her head. Meanwhile, Jason got out of bed and walked over to Carly. He pulled the fog horn from her hands, and gently but forcefully pushed her from their bedroom.

"Go bother your husband" he said. "And who the hell let you have a fog horn?" he asked tiredly.

"But shopping!" cried Carly

"Goodbye Carly" said Jason as he closed the door to the bedroom.

He climbed back into bed and Serena cuddled up next to him.

"Sorry about that" she mumbled. "I should have known Carly would take this shopping trip too seriously"

"It's ok. It's not your fault Carly's a psychotic"

Serena giggled and pressed her body closer to his, falling back to sleep.

Jason couldn't sleep though. Kicking Carly out had made him too alert. He didn't want to get out of bed though. He liked having Serena's body so close to his. He wrapped his arms even tighter around her and looked down at her beautiful face. He could hardly believe that not that long ago, he had been pining away for Courtney. He thought he could never be happy or loved again. Yet here he was, happier and more in love than he had ever been. He brushed back her hair and watched as it settled down on her back. He reached under her tank top and rubbed the bare skin of her flawless back. Well, almost flawless. There were a few scars there. He had no idea what they were from. Whenever he brought it up, she got all tense and changed the subject. He had the sickening feeling that they were from someone whose last name was Sandoval. He took a deep breath as a few scenarios of how those scars had gotten there ran through his head. He tried not to think about it. He only grew angry when he did. And he refused to let himself get angry. He wanted to only be happy. Only be happy with her in his arms. He pulled her even closer to him.

Eventually, Serena woke up. She opened her eyes to find Jason watching her sleep.

"Hi baby" she said as a smile crept on to her face, lighting up her already beautiful features.

"Hi" he said, a big goofy grin on his face as well. He bent down and kissed her lips. The kiss got more intense, and he started to pull off her tank top. He raised it over her head, exposing her breasts with their hard and turned on nipples. She ran her hand down his chest, stopping at the waist band of his boxers. She pulled back the elastic and slipped her hand down. She carefully avoided touching his penis, teasing him. She massaged his upper thigh and he groaned, becoming more turned on by the second. He tugged down her sweat pants, revealing a thin pair of panties. He kissed her neck through labored breaths, and her hand slowly made its way over to his hard errection. It was getting more intense when they were startled out of the moment of passion by a loud knock on the door. They both pulled away as quick as they could. Serena threw her tank top on and Jason pulled a blanket over both of their legs, hiding his errection and her nakedness. He had just pulled the blanket over them when Kemen burst in.

"I need a towel" he said. "Mind if I grab one?" he asked, oblivious to what was going on.

Serena just shook her head and motioned with her hand to the bathroom. She was breathing too heavily to speak. Kemen was babbling about god knows what as he looked for a towel. He came out of the bathroom with one, gave them both a big smile, and then walked out of their bedroom, shutting the door behind himself. As soon as he was gone, Serena let out a breath that she wasn't aware she was holding, and fell backwards so that she was lying down on the bed. She gave a little growl and Jason said "from now on, we make sure he has plenty of towels in his bathroom"

"How 'bout from now on he moves out?" she said.

"Serena" Jason warned, not wanting her to say something she would later regret.

"Come on Jason, let's face it. We are still in the touchy feely stage of our relationship, and there is nothing wrong with wanting a little bit of privacy"

"Yeah, I agree. But he's your brother"

"Jason, he is perfectly capable of moving out. He has the money, and there are plenty of nice places for him to rent around here" she said.

"I know that, and you know that, but Kemen doesn't"

"Alright, so I'll go tell him" she said.

"Serena, I just don't think he's ready to move out. He's very protective of you, and he wants to keep an eye on you"

"I'm not 12 years old, I'm 26. I can take care of myself"

"Just give him some time" said Jason

"Fine, whatever. I'm going to go start breakfast; Carly's must be going crazy waiting for me"

"Ok" said Jason as she got up and walked toward the door.

He didn't follow her, and she turned to him and asked "you coming"

"Ah, in a second" said Jason, his eyes going down to his lap.

"Ohhhh" said Serena, her eyes widening as she realized what was wrong. "Naked grandma" she whispered as she walked out the door and downstairs. Jason smiled at her in a thank you, and she heard him repeating it over and over to himself as she walked down the stairs.

* * *

Somehow, Serena got herself ready and out of the house that morning. She and Carly decided to spend the night in the city- Sonny had a penthouse there as well. This way, they could have two days of uninterrupted shopping. Plus, Serena was making Carly see _Rent_. Serena was crazy about that show. Now, she and Jason were standing in the Corinthos' penthouse, waiting for Carly to bring her stuff downstairs. Kemen and Sonny were at the warehouse, waiting for a shipment. Sonny had given Jason the morning off. Now, he was standing in the living room, saying goodbye to Serena. Goodbye was a big deal; they had yet to spend the night apart since Serena had come to live with Jason. Jason sighed and pulled her into a tight hug. 

"I'm going to miss you" he said.

"I'm going to miss you too" she said as she buried her head into his chest. She breathed in deep, taking in his smell. He was perfect. He had the world's greatest body. His perfect abs and strong arms were always there to engulf her in the best hugs. She pulled her head from his chest and looked up into his eyes. They were such a beautiful blue. He still had his arms around her but that didn't stop her from reaching up to caress his face. His skin was smooth from shaving less than an hour ago. She stood on her tip toes and was able to press her cheek next to his, resting her chin on his shoulder. They both loved the feeling of the other's soft cheek against their own. He held her tighter and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I love you" he whispered into her ear, so softly that she felt chills running down her spine.

"I love you too" she whispered back. They pulled away a little so that they could kiss. They loved kissing each other. They were passionately kissing when Carly walked down the stairs.

"It's one night" she said as she rolled her eyes.

Serena and Jason reluctantly broke away.

"I'll miss you" he said

"I'll miss you too" she replied

"Alright, let's go" said Carly as she pulled Serena away by her arm with another eye roll.

"I love you" Serena called back

"I love you too" said Jason, as he sadly watched her go.

The truth of the matter was that neither wanted to be away from the other for any length of time, let alone a night. They both knew they wouldn't be able to sleep that night without being in one another's arms. When Serena expressed this concern to Carly, she brushed her off, saying she was crazy.

"That's the pot calling the kettle black" mumbled Serena.

"What did you say?" asked Carly.

"Nothing" said Serena with a smile.

"I heard you" said Carly with another smile at her. "You and Jason really love each other, don't you?" she asked.

"We really do" said Serena, as she had on the same goofy lovesick smile that Jason got.

Carly laughed as she recognized the smile, and the two started gossiping as Sonny's limo rolled on to the city and their shopping trip.

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A/N: You know the deal, the more reviews I get, the quicker I update. And don't forget to check out _Trust _either. I should be coming out with a Jasam story too soon. BTW, happy summer to everyone! 


	9. The Past Comes Out

A/N: WARNING- this chapter is a little more graphic and disturbing. If abuse upsets you, don't read it. You'll be able to read chapter 10 later and the rest of the story and still figure out what's going on. But I really wanted to better establish Serena's story. It'll help later, but again, if you don't read it, then you'll still be able to figure out the basic idea in the coming chapters.

On another note-I didn't get many reviews, andI know I said I was going to wait to post, but here I am. I'm getting kind of frustrated with this story though, so I need to know everyone's opinion. I have up to chapter 17 written, but I'm not sure if I should continue with the other ideas I had or just leave it there. It would be better if I kept writing, but I feel like no one's reading. So send me reviews and then I'll decide.

Anyway, here's chapter 9-

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Chapter 9- The Past Comes Out**

Jason was going crazy. Sonny's plan to give Jason the morning off had backfired. He was just sitting there, thinking about Serena. Overcome with cabin fever, Jason left the penthouse and took a ride on his motorcycle. He ended up at their cliff. He didn't even realize it. He got off his bike and looked at the town. He looked over to the spot on the ground where they had first made love. The memory made him smile. Not only had they consummated their relationship, but they had expressed their true feelings for one another. Unable to be there without her, he hopped back on to his bike and sped down to the warehouses. When he arrived, Sonny was no where in sight, but Kemen was sitting on the railing of the pier, staring at the water.

"Hey man" said Kemen when he saw Jason

"Hey" said Jason

"I'm sorry" said Kemen

"About what?" asked Jason

"This morning. I didn't mean to walk in on you two"

"You didn't-"

"Dude, I know my sister. And that blanket did little to hide the evidence. I know she wants me to move out. And I know that I should. But I'm too afraid to"

"Are you afraid of the Sandoval's getting to you? Cause we won't let anything happen to you, you do know that, right?"

"I know, and it's not me I'm worried about, its her"

"I'll protect her" said Jason softly. "I'll protect her with my life".

"I know you will, and it's not that" said Kemen.

"Then what is it?" asked Jason

"It's kind of difficult to explain" said Kemen

"You can tell me. We've basically become brothers"

"I know" said Kemen. "Alright, here it goes" he said, taking a deep breath. "I'm not sure how much detail Serena went into when she explained her childhood to you. But our parents were a piece of work. Our father was an abusive jerk. He drank too much, and he'd lash out. After she was born, my mother had enough. She ran out on us. On all of us. She left me and my sister at the mercy of our father. After she left, he was even more irritable. He didn't work- he just drank. We had basically no money, and we were living in a tiny trailer. He expected us to take care of everything. I even dropped out of school and got a job. I kept it a secret from him though. If he knew I was spending the money on food for Serena and me, he would have killed us. He wanted all the money for booze. He was constantly hitting us. He blamed us both for our mother's disappearance, but he laid most of the blame with Serena. That was how she got those scars on her back. My father would use any excuse to beat her. I tried to get inbetween it, and sometimes I could. But not all the time. It was so hard on her. She would have been any parent's pride and joy. She was beautiful, she was funny, and god was she smart. Her grades were sky-high, her SAT scores were near perfect, and her teachers loved her. She went to Yale you know. She got financial aid once she was living with me. She was a cheerleader, and a dancer. She was perfect. But my father never saw it. He only saw a mistake. And he made sure she knew that that was all she was to him- a terrible accident. It hurt her. It hurt her almost as much as his physical abuse"

"He never tried to- you know, right?" asked Jason nervously

"No, he never touched her in any type of sexual manner. But I wouldn't have put it past him"

"She never told me all of that" said Jason, a little shaken up from Kemen's story. How could anyone hurt his perfect Serena like that?

"I wouldn't imagine she would. She's embarrassed by it. Embarrassed that she was so weak. She was very clingy to me. She was afraid I'd leave too. She was 9 when we left. And after that, she was able to get her life back on track. That was when she became the popular cheerleader with the good grades. That was when she went to Yale. She almost didn't though. She was afraid to leave me. But I convinced her to go. I wanted her to have more opportunities than I did. And she did have more opportunities" said Kemen, almost bitterly

"And then she chose this lifestyle" said Jason, sensing why Kemen was bitter

"Exactly" said Kemen. "And I just don't want to lose her. I want to be there, to stop her from doing anything stupid"

"I know the feeling. But Serena's headstrong. She's not about to let anyone tell her what to do" said Jason

"I know. But I'm still allowed to worry"

"Yeah, you are. So, whatever happened to your parents?"

"My father died. Alcohol poisoning. And I have no idea where my mother is. And truthfully, neither Serena nor I care. As far as we're concerned, she left us for dead. She left us with him" said Kemen

"I'm sorry man"

"Whatever, the past is the past. Let's look toward the future. And as for the future, I see you, me, and Sonny doing the guy thing tonight. You know, pizza and beer now that the girls aren't home"

"Sounds good" said Jason with a smile

"Perfect" said Kemen. He turned and walked back into the warehouse, and Jason followed.

As soon as Kemen's back was turned, Jason's smile faded. He wished he could rush home to Serena and hug her. He couldn't believe that her own father was the reason for the scars on her back. He didn't want to think about him beating her. He didn't want to think about anyone hurting her. It made his heart break and his blood boil at the same time.

* * *

Serena and Carly clamored out of the cab and ran into the lobby. The doorman held an umbrella for them to shield them against the falling rain and then opened the door. They thanked him and then took the elevator up to the penthouse. 

"That was incredible!" said Carly for the 900th time

"I know" said Serena again, a big smile still on her face.

Carly had loved _Rent_, Serena knew she would.

"Did Roger remind you a bit of Jason?" asked Carly, knowing what her friend was thinking

"Maybe" said Serena with a smile. "You know, minus the whole dying of AIDS thing. It's just that bad boy thing"

"I know exactly what you mean" said Carly as the elevator door 'dinged' open to the penthouse. They both pulled off their wet coats and shoes. The changed into pajamas and sat down on the living room couch to watch late night TV. Serena dropped the remote and bent down to pick it up. As she did, her tank top rode up in back. Carly caught a glimpse of one of her scars for the first time.

"How'd you get that?" asked Carly with concern

"Um, I don't remember. I've had it forever" lied Serena as she quickly reached up and covered her back.

Carly could sense that she wanted to drop it. After an hour or so, Serena was exhausted, so she said goodnight to Carly and walked into her bedroom. She laid down on the bed, and looked at the picture of her and Jason she had brought. Carly had laughed at her, making fun of her for being unable to go a night without looking at his face. She was sad though. She hadn't had a chance to speak to Jason at all that day. She sighed as her thoughts wandered back to Carly and the scar. Jason was always asking her how she got that scar. She knew that one day she would have to tell him the truth. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. She pressed her knees to her chest, and huddled up in a ball. She got under the covers and fell asleep. It was hard without Jason. However, she had thought enough to bring a pair of his boxers to sleep in. She smiled as she thought about wearing them. However, her sleep was not undisturbed. Carly's words still rang in her head about the scar, and her dreams reflected it.

_Serena's dream:_

_She was cowering in the corner as her father yelled. Kemen pounded on the bathroom door where their father had locked him. He wanted desperately to get out and help Serena._

"_You little bitch!" yelled Carlos Martinez. "I told you that I wanted this trailer cleaned up"_

"_I did papa, I did" cried the little 7 year old girl._

"_What is that!" yelled Carlos as he pointed at the speck of dust that lay on broken TV set._

"_I'm sorry papa!" she cried. "Please!"_

_But her pleading was in vein. Her father had already removed his thick leather belt. He spun her around so that her back was to him and he pulled the belt up high above his head. He crashed it down on her back and she cried out. He repeatedly hit her, again and again. She could feel her back starting to bleed as she grabbed on to the wall to steady herself. She was only 7. She shouldn't have to deal with this. She shouldn't be in the corner of a trailer, being whipped by her father. She cried out as she heard the crack and felt the leather continuously break her skin. _

"_Kemen, Kemen" she yelled. She soon found that her cries changed though. "Jason, Jason" she cried._

"Jason, Jason" she cried in her sleep. She woke up with a start. Her back hurt her, but she knew that it was all in her head. She had dreamed that. Scared, she hurried to the bathroom and lifted her shirt with her back to the mirror. She twisted her head around and saw to her relief that her back was not covered in welts and blood. She took a deep breath. She crept out to the kitchen and got a glass of water to calm herself down. She was glad to see that her cries hadn't woken Carly. The sound of the rain had drowned them out. She didn't want to have to explain her dream to Carly. It really wasn't a dream though. It was more of a memory. That had happened to her. That was how she had gotten that scar. She started to cry in spite of herself. She really needed Jason here. She wished he was with her. She knew that if she called him, he would hop on his motorcycle and be there in an hour. But she couldn't do that. It was the middle of the night. She crawled back into bed and put the glass on the night stand. Her eyes fell on the picture of Jason. She couldn't take it anymore. She at least needed to tell Jason the truth. Even if it was 3 in the morning. She grabbed the phone and dialed her home number. Home. Out of all of the homes she had, this one was her favorite. She heard the phone ring only once and then she head a surprisingly alert "hello"

* * *

Jason, Sonny, and Kemen had gotten their guys night. They ate pizza and drank beer, and watched James Bond movies. But Sonny missed Carly, and Jason was going crazy without Serena. Jason hadn't been able to sleep. He was in the living room, looking at the photo albums Serena had put together in her spare time. They all contained pictures of the two of them. They both looked so happy. They were a family. He knew he shouldn't miss her this much after one night. He just hoped she was having a good time and that Carly wasn't driving her up a wall. He was surprised to hear the phone ring, but he quickly picked it up so that it wouldn't wake Kemen. 

"Hello?" he said

"Jase?" asked Serena, still crying

"Baby, what's wrong? Are you hurt? Did someone get to you? Talk to me" he said, trying to keep his voice steady. He was filled with concern for her.

"No, no one got to me" she said as she tried to stop crying. "I just missed you and I needed to talk to you" she said.

"I miss you too" he said, his voice soft and comforting.

"Jason, there's something I need to tell you" she said

"What is it?" he asked

"I just wanted to tell you how I got those scars. The ones on my back" she said, taking a deep breath

"You don't have to" he said

"No, I want to" she said

"Really, it's ok. Kemen told me"

"What?" she asked. "I wish he didn't. I wanted to be the one to tell you"

"I know, but it was good that he told me. He wanted me to know just what you had been through. And baby, I am so sorry. No one deserves that" he said, desperately wishing he was there so he could hold her in his arms.

"God, I wish my father wasn't dead so I could kill him myself" she said through angry tears.

'Me too' thought Jason. "I'm so sorry baby" he repeated. "What brought on the sudden desire to talk about this?" asked Jason, concerned that something bad had happened.

"It's nothing really. I just had a dream. Well, more of a memory really. It was of this one time, when I was seven. And my father had threatened to give me the beating of a lifetime if the trailer wasn't cleaned by the time he got home from the bar that night. So Kemen and I did what he said. And it was perfect. But he came home, drunk of course, and he noticed the tiniest speck of dust, and he went ballistic. He locked Kemen in the bathroom so that he couldn't get in the middle, and he cornered me. And then…his belt…whipped…blood…welts…screaming…hours" she sobbed

Jason couldn't make out what she was saying through her sobs, but he was able to get the just of it. He whispered comforting words through the phone, and tried to sooth her. She eventually calmed down.

"I'm sorry Jason" she said

"For what?" he asked

"For calling you at 3 in the morning in hysterics"

"Hey, don't apologize. I'm your boyfriend. And I love you. And that's what I'm here for" he said.

"I love you too. I better get some sleep" said Serena. "Carly's going to be dragging me all over tomorrow. Or today really" said Serena, glancing at the clock.

"Alright. Sweet dreams" wished Jason

"You too" she said, knowing that now that she had spoken to Jason, and he didn't think she was weak and pathetic in spite of everything, she would have sweet dreams.

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A/N: So now you know Serena's story. Remember to review and send me your opinion on the burning question- to finish or not to finish? 


	10. Public Displays of Affection

A/N: Alright, I left you all hanging long enough. It's been a week since I've updated. That's a long time for me! I have gotten very few reviews, but thanks to the new hit counter, I know that people are reading, even if they won't get off their lazy bums and review! Seriously, it's not that hard, it's just a teeny-tiny click of a button. So just do it people, for my health and sanity. But anyway, at least you're all reading, so I'll shut up and get to the story.**

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**Chapter 10- Public Displays of Affection**

"So, what do you think?" asked Kemen, showing off his new apartment to everyone.

Serena had been helping him decorate for the past few weeks, and now it was done. Kemen had not had a say in anything, Serena picked all of the colors and furniture. So, it had actually come out pretty nice.

After Serena and Carly had returned from the city, Kemen had announced that he was moving out. It was time for him to leave Jason and Serena alone. Although Serena would miss her brother, she also thought it was extremely nice to have some private time with Jason. Ever since she told him about her father, they had been even closer. When she and Carly returned from the city, Kemen had left them alone for the night. Jason ordered in dinner, and set up a candlelit table on the balcony. He had even agreed to dance with her. As they danced, she felt him trace the scars on her back. He had gently lifted her shirt up and kissed each scar, letting his soft lips linger on her skin. It was as if those kisses had taken away years of pain. He made her feel better. It was that night when she realized just how much Jason truly meant to her. She would be lost without him. She loved him, but it was even more than love. It was something indescribable. And he felt the same way. Serena was his life, his heart, and his soul. He didn't care what happened to himself, as long as she was safe and happy.

Since Sonny and Serena were the only two people who actually knew how to cook, they made dinner that night for everyone in Kemen's new apartment. Sonny and Serena had become as close as brother and sister, and Sonny picked up the habit of calling her his "baby sister", much to the dismay of Courtney. Although her relationship with Sonny was being mended, it still wasn't perfect. Truthfully, Courtney was a little jealous of Serena. But Courtney had Jax now, and in fact, the two had eloped only the week before.

It was after midnight by the time anyone looked at the clock. Michael and Morgan had long since fallen asleep. Jason carried Michael out and Sonny carried Morgan out after saying goodnight to Kemen. After they arrived back at the Harborview Towers and Jason put Michael into bed, he went across the hall to where Serena was waiting for him. He found her staring out the window. He wrapped his arms around her waist and planted kisses on her temple. The two just stood there, with Jason holding Serena, for the longest time. Neither said anything. They only thought about how much they loved to just be near one another. They both loved to suck in the other's scent, touch, and love. They were happy. Very happy.

Jason let a yawn escape, despite his attempt to suppress it. Serena smiled. She was a night owl. She loved to stay up until the early hours of the morning. She slipped her hand into Jason's hand that was lying on her stomach, and turned around to face him.

"Go to sleep" she said, her mouth teasingly near his.

"Only if you come to bed with me" he said, running his hand that wasn't holding hers through her silky brown hair.

"Jasonnnn" she whined

"I know, I know. You're not tired. But I can't sleep without you in my arms"

"Alright, well that I buy" said Serena with a smile as she pressed her lips to his, purposely keeping them closed, denying his tongue access to her mouth. She loved to tease him. She pulled back, opening her mouth at last second to gently bite his bottom lip, slightly pulling it along with her. "Bedtime" she said, leading him up the stairs.

He watched her walk up, her hips swaying. He playfully slapped her butt and she giggled a little. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back down the stairs.

"You know what?" he said, a twinkle in his eye

"What?" she asked, getting the same twinkle

"Kemen no longer lives here"

"No shit Sherlock" she said with a roll of her eyes

He gave her a sarcastic smile and said "well, that means we can have sex anywhere".

"I'm a lady, we don't have sex. We make love" she said matter-of-factually

"Whatever" he said pulling her down to the living room floor as she shrieked in delight.

The two "made love" on the living room floor before moving to the kitchen, the downstairs bathroom, and eventually, the pool table. That was where they ended up falling asleep.

* * *

Sonny walked into Jason and Serena's penthouse without even knocking. He was clearly distraught. He was about to yell up the stairs for them, when he noticed the sleeping figures on the pool table, covered only by a thin blanket. 

"Ahem" he said, walking over to them.

They both awoke with a start. Once they realized the situation at hand, they became very embarrassed. Sonny turned around, and threw them their clothes. When he turned back around, Jason had on his jeans from the night before, and Serena had on Jason's black t-shirt.

"How can we help you Sonny" said Jason, one arm protectively around Serena.

"There's been an accident" said Sonny

"What kind of 'accident'?" asked Serena skeptically

"An explosion at one of the warehouses. Some sort of bomb was set up"

"Which warehouse?" asked Jason

"Number 3" said Sonny

"Alright, let's go check it out" said Serena. Sonny motioned to the door, prompting Serena to ask "mind if we put on a little more clothes?"

"Right, no go ahead. I'll meet you down there in an hour" said Sonny, his face turning reddish.

"Goodbye Sonny" said Jason

"Bye" said Sonny as he walked out, still not looking at Serena in the eye.

"That wasn't awkward at all" said Serena once he left.

"Yeah, I guess it wasn't such a good idea for Sonny to start thinking of you as a little sister"

"I guess not. Anyway, we should go get showered and dressed. You know what we should do?" she asked

"What's that?" asked Jason, putting both arms on her waist and looking into her deep brown eyes.

"We should shower together" she said seductively

"Oh really? I thought we were rushing to get out of here"

"We are, which is why a shower together is good. It'll get us out of here quickly. Cause we're only gonna shower. Nothing else. Besides, it's good for the environment. Save the… whales. Or something"

"I can do that for the whales" he said, kissing her. He picked her up and carried her up to the bathroom.

Needless to say, they did more than save the whales in that shower.

* * *

An hour and a half later, Jason and Serena arrived at the warehouse. 

"You're late" said Sonny, looking down at his watch

"Its ok" said Serena "it's all Jason's fault"

"Hey" said Jason

"Hey yourself" she said as he reached over and started kissing her.

"Focus" said Sonny, yet his words had no impact on the young lovers. "FOCUS!" said Sonny, a little louder this time.

"Right, we're focused" said Serena as she giggled because Jason was now planting little kisses on the sensitive skin of her neck.

"Alright, enough of this" said Sonny, grabbing Jason by the arm and pulling him away from Serena. He pulled him a little roughly on to his other side. He let go, and Jason rubbed his arm.

"Come on" said Jason

"I'm sorry, but there's a limit to how much of this mushy stuff I can take" said Sonny

"Fine. I'm going to survey the damage" said Jason, walking away and toward the burnt down warehouse

"You know, he was never into the public displays of affection before you" said Sonny to Serena

All she could do was smile. Seeing her smile, Sonny couldn't help but smile as well.

"Let's go look at what happened" said Serena as she too walked toward the warehouse, the smile still plastered to her face.

"Is this the shell of the bomb?" asked Jason, pointing to it on the ground.

"Yeah" said Sonny. "Careful, it's still hot"

"Pass me those gloves" said Serena to Sonny as her eyes narrowed

"Here" he said, giving her the gloves.

Without removing her eyes from the bomb, she put them on. She ran her hand over the side of the shell, and her eyes widened.

"Oh my god" she said with a gasp.

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A/N: There you all go, a cliff hanger. And I don't plan on telling you what Serena's oh my goding until I get some reviews! I am putting my foot down. 

And, well you are all at it, read my other story _Trust. _It's Journey, it's on this site, and it's good (did that sound very conceited? Oh well) Thanks everyone!


	11. Hot on the Trail

A/N: Here is another review for everyone. According to my handy little hit counter, 29 of you read, yet 26 of you forgot to review. A good way to make up for that is to LEAVE ME A REVIEW! Please. See, I'm polite about it. But I'm not going to focus on reviews right now. I'm going to focus on my Jason and Serena goodness. This is a rather long chapter, so I hope you all enjoy it very much. Thanks for reading guys! (And reviewing. Maybe)**

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**Chapter 11- Hot on the Trail**

Without removing her eyes from the bomb, she put them on. She ran her hand over the side of the shell, and her eyes widened.

"Oh my god" she said with a gasp.

"What is it?" asked Jason, filled with concern

"Look at this" she said pointing.

"Yeah, so, it's the serial number" said Sonny as he and Jason looked closer

"Look at the 9" she said

"That's weird it's backwards" said Jason, furrowing his brow in confusion

"What are you getting at?" asked Sonny

"There has to be a reason for that" said Serena

"Maybe it's a trademark" said Jason

"Or maybe, the person who made it was dyslexic"

"That's going out on a limb" scoffed Sonny

"Yeah, seriously Serena. How many dyslexic bomb makers do you know?" asked Jason with a chuckle

"Only one" she said very seriously.

* * *

"Alright, let's go over the plan one more time" said Jason 

Serena sighed. "Jason, we have already gone over the plan 19 times"

"So, let's make it an even 20"

"You're really pissing me off, you know that?" she asked him, rolling her eyes.

The two were sitting on Sonny's private jet, flying off the Miami. That was where the guy Serena knew of was located.

"I know" he said. "But you still love me anyway" he said with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. But right now, it's not based on personality; it's totally on your shallow looks. I just can't resist those eyes and abs" she teased.

"I can live with that" he said as he bent down to kiss her. Her head was resting in his lap, and he was absentmindedly stroking her silky hair. "Now, about the plan"

"Alright, alright. We barge into his house, you get him in a chokehold, hit him until he talks, maybe cut off something of importance, and if that doesn't work, we go through his files"

"That is not the plan" said Jason, his eyes narrowing at her.

"It should be" she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Usually I'm the one with the violent ideas and everyone is telling me to tone it down"

"Guess you never met a girl like me" she said with a smile

"Your right about that. Now please, please, please, just go over the real plan" he said

She sighed and lifted her head off his lap. She looked him straight in the eye and said, in a very serious tone, "do you have OCD?"

"Haha. Very funny. Look, I've never worked with a woman I loved before. And I'm just scared that something's going to happen to you. I know that I shouldn't be, and that you've lived your own life before I ever came into the picture, and you're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself. But I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you. I love you with all my heart and I never, ever, want to even have to think about losing you"

Her anger subsided and her face softened as she heard what he said. She slowly reached up and caressed his cheek, feeling his stubble beginning to appear. She smiled at him, and slowly reached over and kissed him. It was a sensual kiss, sweet and tender.

"I love you too" she said. "And thank you for caring about me. It's nice to know that someone loves me enough to go over a simple plan twenty five times"

"It was only twenty" he mumbled looking down at his feet.

She gently kissed his cheek and said "and that's how I know that you love me"

He looked up at her and kissed her. After they broke away, she snuggled into his arms, tracing the outline of his chest muscles with her finger.

"Alright" she sighed, "so this plan." He smiled at her and she continued "I put on the slutty clothes, pretend to be one of his call girls. Well I distract the guards; you sneak in the back, carefully avoiding the security cameras and other assorted traps, grab the files from his computer, and then give me the signal once you're out"

"Which is…?"

"Two rings on my cell phone"

"Good. And what do you do if any one gets even the slightest bit too touchy"

"Kick their asses"

"Exactly. Alright, I think we got it"

"Good, now, what's plan B?" she asked

"What do you mean?" he asked her

"Jason, this is so far fetched, it's never going to work. I say we shoot first and ask questions later"

"You really are the female version of me" he said slightly amused.

"Not with those plans I'm not"

"Hey, this is Sonny's plan. I would never, ever, have any other men fawning over you. Besides, no one's happy with this. Sonny was bugging out when it came to his 'baby sister' pretending to be a hooker"

Serena opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the co-captain. He came out to let them know they would be landing in 15 minutes. Serena grabbed the bag and went into the bathroom. 10 minutes later, she emerged, and Jason's jaw dropped to the ground.

"So, what do ya think?" she asked, spinning around

"I, uh, wow, god, my, I, uh"

"Jason Morgan, are you speechless?" she asked, a twinkle in her eye

Unable to speak, Jason just nodded. She was wearing a tiny skirt, high heels, a tiny top that barely covered anything, and heavy makeup. She looked like the perfect hooker- not gross, but still slutty.

"You going to be ok?" she said sitting down on his lap

"What are you doing?" he asked, unable to answer her question

"I thought I could practice my lap dance" she said seductively.

She leaned in, and was about to kiss him, when the co-captain interrupted again.

"Mr. Morgan, Ms. Martinez, I just wanted to let you know that we're landing now, so you should sit down and fasten your-" he stopped when he caught site of Serena. "Wow" he said.

She giggled a little, and an angry Jason eased her off his lap, and walked toward the poor, trembling co-captain.

"Jason, come on, do you blame the guy?" asked Serena as she got up to stop Jason from slugging the fearful man.

Jason mumbled some incoherent phrase, and sat back down and fastened his seatbelt. Serena did the same next to him.

As they landed, Serena slipped her hand into his and closed her eyes. She slowly counted down backwards from 10 in Spanish

"Are you ok?" he asked her, seeing her suddenly pale face

"No, not really. I was never good with the idea of being in a hunk of metal that is pummeling toward the ground"

"Don't think about it that way. Think of an incredibly high tech machine gracefully coming back to the earth"

"Diaz, nueve, ocho…" she said, her eyes still closed.

Jason squeezed her hand, desperate to take away any fear she had. He decided the best way to do it was to distract her. He reached over and kissed her cheek, letting his lips linger on her skin as he tasted her. He felt her taking deep breaths as she tried to remain calm. He kissed her neck, and her hand, and her forehead. He eventually made it to her lips. The plane gave a sudden lurch just as he was about to slip his tongue into her mouth, and he pulled away as she dug her nails into his arm. She squeezed her eyes shut and refused to let go of Jason's arms for anything. He tried to calm her down, but nothing but the feeling of the plane touching down on the ground worked. As the plane sped down the runway, she slowly opened her eyes and loosened her grip on Jason's arms. When she pulled away, he had indents in his skin from where she had held on.

"Sorry" she said bashfully as she kissed the little marks to make the pain go away.

It always seemed to work with them. Her kisses could heal anything.

"It's ok, it feels better already. Besides, now I have something to use against you"

"Oh yeah?" she asked in mock anger

"Yeah, the tough Serena Martinez is afraid to fly"

"I have no idea what your talking about" she said, but the smile on her face said something completely different

"It's ok" whispered Jason as he leaned in close to her like he was telling her a big secret. "I like it. It's nice that I get to protect you from something" he finished before kissing her cheek.

She turned her head into his kiss, desperate to feel his soft lips on her skin. She intertwined her fingers with his, and he wrapped his free arm around her

"We're here, we have to get off the plane" said Serena, although she didn't want to

"I know" sighed Jason, looking just as disappointed as she felt.

* * *

An hour later, the plan was set into action. Jason watched behind a bush as Serena walked up to the guy's compound. His name was Carlos Herena, and he was one of the most expensive bomb makers out there. He also had a perfect track record when it came to protecting sources and getting the job done. Few knew of his dyslexia, but Serena had heard Adrian and Armando working with him once before, although she never saw his face and he never saw hers. 

A guard stopped Serena midway, and although Jason could not hear what they were saying, he saw her put her hand on his arm and smile. The man smiled back, and led her inside. Jason pushed his worry aside, and crept around to the side of the compound. He scaled the high fence, avoiding the barbed wire. He received only the tiniest cut on his hand, and he simply put his hand in his mouth to suck away the little blood that was trickling down. Now was no time to worry about a little cut. It was important to get the information and get Serena out of there as quickly as possible.

Jason was now on Herena's property. He walked over to the main house, happy to see that Serena had done her job. All of the guards were missing, obviously congregated around Serena. Jason came across a door. He carefully cut the security wire, and then picked the lock. He pushed it open, holding his breath in hopes that he did not miss some sort of security device and set off an alarm. To his relief, the only sound the door made was a tiny creaking sound. Jason walked into the house, and made his way to the center. Serena had managed to secure them floor plans through some contact she had, and he knew exactly where the home office was. He soon found the door, and carefully picked the lock on that one as well. The computer sat in the middle of a big mahogany desk. Jason slipped the blank CD out of his pocket, and put it into the disk drive. He set it up so that the hard drive was copied on to the disk. All of Herena's files would be his, and Herena would have no idea. The computer began to transfer it, although to Jason's dismay, it was going extremely slow.

"Come on, come on" he whispered, willing it to go quicker, and trying not to imagine Serena in any trouble.

* * *

Meanwhile, Serena was in the midst of distracting the guards. They kept a respectable distance away from her, but Serena still didn't like that they were looking at her like a piece of ass. She knew that if Jason was here, they would all be in a whole lot of pain. Unfortunately, the guards made quite a racket. Confused by the noise, the one person Serena was dreading came face to face with her- Carlos Herena himself. 

"What the hell is going on here?" he asked in a thick Cuban accent

"Sir, this came for you" said one of the guards, pulling her by the arm and treating her like she was some sort of package sent in the mail.

"I didn't order a girl today" said Herena, getting so close to her that she could smell his foul breath. She had to try her hardest not to flinch as he came even closer.

"My madam thought you could use a little TLC. A free gift, just for being such a loyal customer" she said, trying to act as sexy as possible without becoming completely grossed out.

Herena got even closer, and lifted one hand to her. He cupped her neck, and ran his hand slowly down the front of her, feeling her curves. She wanted so badly to wince. She didn't like this man touching her. She knew that this was the part where she should get out. She should start kicking ass. But she knew that then there was the risk of Jason being found out. And she wasn't willing to risk his life. Instead, she put up with Herena's touch, and tried to tell herself in her head that it was Jason touching her. If she could only convince herself that this disgusting man's chapped hands, foul breath, and heavy cologne were Jason's soft hands, minty-perfect breath, and light, perfect aftershave.

"Let's go somewhere more private baby" said Herena in her ear, as he led her into the house by the wrist.

Herena led her into the bedroom where he started kissing her. She couldn't help but pull away from him. No amount of telling herself it was Jason touching her would work.

"What is it?" asked Carlos, less concerned about her then having to stop kissing her.

"Um, it's a rule. No kissing on the lips. Sorry" she said, trying to sound convincing. She had heard that some rings had that rule, and she seriously hoped that whichever high priced madam Herena went to enforced that rule among her girls.

"Ah yes, I forgot" said Herena, throwing her roughly down on the bed. He started kissing her everywhere else, and Serena desperately tried to convince herself it was Jason.

"It's Jason kissing me, it's Jason kissing me" she repeated in her head, trying to stop any tears that were threatening to fall.

* * *

100 percent. Jason was finished. Now, all he needed to do was get Serena out safely. Jason pocketed the CD, and hurried back outside. He dialed Serena's cell phone number, and then let it ring twice before hanging up. 

Serena heard the faint sound of her cell phone ring twice. It was Jason, her knight in shining armor- rescuing her from all of the bad.

"Thank god" she whispered under her breath. Herena was so captivated by her breasts, that he didn't even hear her.

"I'll be right back" she said

"Why?" he asked, still kissing her neck

"Umm, I think this needs to be spiced up, and what better way than me getting some special toys from my truck"

"Come on baby, you don't need anything. We have enough right here" he said, pressing her body down to the bed.

He pressed hard against her mouth with his chapped lips. She tried to fight him off without seeming too forceful. But he wouldn't hear anything of it.

"You know, I really have to go" she said, slipping out from underneath him.

"I don't think so baby" said Herena as he grabbed her and roughly threw her against the door. The doorknob jammed into her back, and she cried out. He ignored her though, and kissed her again. He was holding her arms above her head so that she couldn't move. She tried to kick out, but her legs were pinned to the wall as well. As she felt his lips on hers, she bit down hard. He grunted and pulled away, putting his finger to his lips to wipe away the blood that was pouring out of it.

"You little bitch" he growled.

Before she could react, he pulled his arm back and slapped her clear across the face. She wobbled on her high heels, and was flung across the room, hitting her head on the floor. She managed to murmur Jason's name before falling unconscious.

* * *

Jason was outside, waiting for her, desperately wondering what was wrong. Unable to wait any longer just thinking about her being in trouble, he scaled the fence for the third time and made it back into Herena's compound. He got into the house and searched every room, his gun out and ready for business. He heard sounds coming from one room, and he kicked open the locked door. His heart caught in his throat at what he saw. Serena was lying in a bloody heap on the floor, and Herena was tearing at her clothes and hitting her. Her shirt was lying on the floor next to her, and she was only wearing her skirt and bra. Her head was bleeding, and she was unconscious. He could see her cheek starting to bruise, as were her arms, and blood slowly trickled from her lower lip. His fear was soon replaced by anger. 

"Who the hell are you?" asked Herena

"Someone you really don't want to piss off" said Jason, shooting Herena in the chest twice without thinking.

Herena's eyes widened and he gasped for air before falling to the floor, dead. Jason took off his jacket and put it on Serena. He held her in his arms, willing her to wake up.

"Come on baby, come on" said Jason to her as he held her.

She opened her eyes, much to his relief.

"Jase?" she mumbled

"Shh, I'm here" he said, kissing her. "But we have to get out of here" he said as he scooped her up in his arms.

Guards were coming at them from all sides, and quiet honestly, Jason had no idea how they got out of there. But they did, and they made it back to the jet. Once they were out of harms way, Jason took to inspecting Serena. He breathed in shallow breaths as he looked at her bruised and bloodied body. He knew that he shouldn't have let her get involved in the business. He laid her down on the couch and went into the bathroom. He emerged with wet cloths, and he got some ice as well. He pulled out the first aid kit and started taking care of her. He first cleaned the cut on her head and put a bandage on it. He held the ice to her cheek, caressing her face as he did. God she was beautiful, even when she was unconscious.

"Jason" she mumbled, coming to again

"Hey" he said softly

"What happened?" she asked, putting one hand to her throbbing head.

Jason explained everything to her, and she just moaned.

"I never had a damsel in distress complex until you showed up in my life" she said

"You're not a damsel in distress. You're a fighter" he said, toying with her hair

"One day, I'll be the one saving you" she said

"You already did" he answered softly, and she just melted. He gently kissed her, and it would have been perfect. But the cut on her lip reminded him of that asshole Herena. Jason suddenly pulled back as he remembered what he did. He had killed Herena. Oops.

"Sonny's going to murder me" said Jason with a groan

"At least it'll give me a chance to save you" said Serena with a smile.

She pushed her hair back, letting it fly freely as she sat up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed in his perfect smell. As much as she hated to admit it, she was scared when Herena was attacking her. She wanted to be in Jason's arms, and have no one but Jason hold her and kiss her. He wrapped his arms around her, just as glad as she was that she was safe, if not more. She winced as he did this, causing him to pull back.

"What's wrong?" he asked

"It's nothing" she said. "I'm just a little bruised up" she said

"Let me see" he said as he tried to see her back. She eventually turned around and he sucked in a shallow breath when he saw her, trying to keep his anger in check. She was covered in bruises from both the doorknob and him throwing her down. Jason kissed her back, and put ice on it, but he was unable to keep his eyes off the bruises and her scars. The scars were all that remained of the lacerations and welts that her father had given her. She had been through so much pain. But so had he. His was emotional, and hers was physical. Together, they balanced out. Once the ice melted, Jason dried off her now wet back, and removed his shirt. He put it over her head, and she lied down on his bare chest. She traced his muscles with her fingers.

"I love seeing you shirtless" she said with a smile

"And I love seeing _you_ shirtless" he said

"And then why did u pluck yours off and cover me up" she asked teasingly

"Because what you want means more to me than what I want" he answered truthfully

"Oh" she said, unable to say anything else. She had never been loved like this before. She cuddled closer to him, and he closed his eyes, feeling extremely content. Right now, his only problem would be dealing with Sonny and his anger over Herena's death. So much for not letting anyone on to their leads. Oh well. Serena's safety was more important than Sonny's piece of mind. At least Jason hoped it was.

* * *

A/N: Hope you all liked the chapter. Remember to review! 


	12. The Broken Ties that Bind

A/N: Although no is reviewing, I still know you're reading because of the hit counter. I'm going to update this time, but I want more reviews or I may just _forget_ to update for a month or two...hmmm. **

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**Chapter 12- The Broken Ties that Bind**

"Ready?" Serena asked Jason as they stepped off the elevator at Harborview Towers.

Jason just sighed, and she slipped her hand into his. Grateful for her touch, Jason lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. Serena smoothed her hair so that it covered her face and head injury. She didn't particularly want anyone knowing exactly what happened, other than Jason of course, so she and Jason had decided to just tell Sonny that she was attacked without going into specifics. They said their respective hellos to Max, and then walked into Sonny's penthouse.

"You're back! How'd it go?" asked Sonny when they walked in

"Um, things got a little complicated. Are Carly and the boys around?" said Jason

"No, they're at Kelly's"

"Alright, um we got the disc" said Jason, holding up the CD

"But…" prompted Sonny

Jason just looked down at his feet.

"But Herena's dead" said Serena softly

"WHAT!" bellowed Sonny. "WHICH ONE OF YOU SHOT HIM?"

"I did Sonny. But I had to. The plan backfired, he attacked Serena, he was on top of her while she was unconscious! He was going to ra-" said Jason, unable to say the word 'rape'.

"AND KILLING HIM WAS THE ANSWER! THIS MAKES US MORE ENEMIES! THIS PUTS MORE PEOPLE IN THE POSITION FOR RETALIATION"

"Sonny! I did what I had to do!" yelled Jason

"Serena, go across the hall" said Sonny very softly, but his voice was still pulsating with anger.

"Sonny! I am a part of your business as well. Whatever you need to say to Jason, you can say to me"

"GO!" yelled Sonny

"Don't yell at her Sonny! She's been through enough!" cried Jason

"No, you know what baby? It's ok. I'm gone" she said as she gave Jason's hand a final squeeze and threw a dirty look at Sonny.

But Serena didn't leave. Instead, she stood outside of the door, listening to Sonny verbally beat down Jason. She couldn't help but want to cry. Sonny ruled Jason's life. She knew what was coming; Sonny was going to ask him to break up with her. Or order him. Serena just made everything too complicated. She wasn't sure if she could handle being another casualty of the Sonny/Jason war. She didn't think Jason could handle it either. He loved her. What did Sonny have to do with anything?

* * *

"Jason, this is unacceptable. You can't let your emotions get in the way of your job" said Sonny 

"What was I supposed to do? Let him keep beating her? Let him rape her?" demanded Jason angrily.

"No, the guy was scum. But you knock him out and get out of there"

"Sonny, you didn't see what was going on. This guy was going to kill her. You should see her back! It looks like she was hit by a truck. I touch her, and she's in pain. She moves in the wrong way, and she's in pain! Her whole body is sore from this guy's beating. He was in the process of stripping her when I walked in! I'm sorry if you don't like it, but I killed him to protect her. And I know you would do the same thing for Carly without hesitation. So do not yell at me for this. Yes, I know, I screwed up. And now, maybe people know that we're on to them. But I was willing to take that risk if it meant protecting the woman I love" said Jason, his blue eyes turning cold as he thought about the situation at hand.

"I knew you shouldn't have let her get involved in the business. I knew that she would cloud your head. I warned you"

"Sonny, she's not just going to sit around all day and bake cookies. Serena isn't like that and I love her for it"

"You never listen to me Jason. I warn you, and you chose not to listen to me. It happened with Courtney, and it's happening again"

"It's not happening again" said Jason determinedly

"Jason, this is not working. I'm worried"

"I thought you liked Serena. I thought she became like a little sister to you!"

"She did! And that's what worries me. We're getting so attached. For all we know, she could be reporting back to the Sandovols on our every move."

Outside in the hall, Serena tried desperately to swallow her tears. Did they really think she was using them?

"She is _not_ reporting back to the Sandovols. She genuinely loves me Sonny!" cried Jason

"Alright, so let's say she's not. Even so, don't you think she's going to be a big target? She has enemies of her own as well. You're going to be so preoccupied with saving Serena that you're not going to do your job"

"Sonny, what are you saying?"

"I am saying that maybe you and Serena need to take a break"

"From the business?" asked Jason

"No. From each other" said Sonny.

* * *

Serena wasn't about to stick around to hear more, she took off running, tears blinding her vision. She pushed past Max and got into the elevator, not sure of where she was going, and not really caring. 

Back in the penthouse, Jason was staring at Sonny with disbelief.

"Are you kidding! You tried this with Courtney, and it didn't work. Remember! It just hurt everyone who was involved"

"Jason, I don't want to hurt anyone. Which is why I'm asking you to do this"

"Sonny, I have given up everything for you. I gave up Courtney for a while; I gave up Michael, and Carly. I gave you my Quartermaine money, and I am more than willing to give up my life. But I can't give up Serena. She's my reason for living. She left her husband for me! She sacrificed everything to be with me, and I'll sacrifice everything to be with her"

Sonny sighed, and ran his hand through his dark hair. He knew there was no fighting with Jason. He hated putting his best friend in the middle of it all. He hated making him choose. And how could he do that to him again? But he was worried about his family. Serena included.

"Alright" said Sonny finally

"Alright what?" asked Jason

"Alright, go be with your girlfriend. Take care of her. Maybe take her to the hospital, those bruises sounded bad"

Jason smiled and started walking toward the door. He was nearly there when he turned around and looked at Sonny again.

"Thank you" said Jason

Sonny smiled at him and said "go get her to the hospital! I'll call Kemen and fill him in. And that is an order"

Jason bounded out of the penthouse and across the hall. Serena was no where in sight. Running back into the hall he asked Max if he had seen her. Max told him that he had seen her leave in the elevator. He also let him know that Serena was listening in at the door.

"When did she leave?" asked Jason

"About ten minutes ago" answered Max

"Shit!" said Jason. How much had Serena heard?

Deciding the elevator was too slow; heran down the stairs and set on his search for her.

* * *

Serena sat in the park, just staring at the trees. It was autumn, and the trees were becoming beautiful colors. She sighed as she tried to think about what to do with her life next. To her dismay, she started crying again. She was wallowing in her own self pity when she was disturbed by a voice. The voice belonged to a man of medium height with dark hair. He was somewhat attractive. He didn't have the muscular Jason look, but he had a cute face. 

"Is this seat taken?" he asked her, flashing a smile.

"No, go right ahead" said Serena, trying to wipe away her tears before anyone saw.

"You look like you've been crying" he said.

"What? Oh, no, it's nothing" she answered

"It doesn't seem like nothing" he replied.

"I just came to the realization that I don't mean as much to my boyfriend as I thought I did"

"Ah, you have a boyfriend"

"Not anymore. He's going to break up with me" she said.

"And how do you know that?" asked the man

"Believe me, I know" she said, trying not to sound too downtrodden

"Yeah, well your boyfriend's an idiot then" he said as she chuckled. "I'm serious. Look, I don't know you, and for all I know you could be a psychotic. But right now, you seem like a sweet, beautiful, kind person" he said, looking into her eyes.

She was captivated by his trance. She immediately knew how to get over Jason.

"Would it be alright if I kissed you?" she asked him breathlessly

"Excuse me?" he asked

But she didn't give him a chance to answer. She leaned over and pressed her lips to his. The kiss deepened and they wrapped their arms around one another. They didn't even know each others names, yet here they were, making out in the park.

* * *

Jason's next stop was the park. He was walking through it, about to give up hope when he saw her. But she wasn't alone. His eyes widened in surprise at the sight he saw, and his heart seemed to fall out of her chest. Serena, his girlfriend, his life, his reason for living, was kissing…

* * *

A/N: Who's Serena kissing? Review to find out. 


	13. An Endless Trail of Nothing

A/N: I haven't gotten many reviews, and that kinda makes me sad. I know that you guys are reading, what's so hard about leaving a review! I want 5 reviews or I'm not updating. I'm putting my foot down again like I did in the begining. I have three other stories to focus my attentions on, and I'd hate to abandon this one... get my hint?**

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**Chapter 13- An Endless Trail of Nothing**

Jason's next stop was the park. He was walking through it, about to give up hope when he saw her. But she wasn't alone. His eyes widened in surprise at the sight he saw, and his heart seemed to fall out of her chest. Serena, his girlfriend, his life, his reason for living, was kissing…AJ!

Jason couldn't believe it. Serena was kissing his brother. Without thinking, he let his anger get the best of him. He stormed over to the bench the two were sitting on and yanked AJ up and was about to punch him. Serena jumped up as well and was behind Jason in a half a second, grabbing his arm that was about to hit AJ.

"Jason, what the hell is going on?" she asked

"You two know each other?" asked AJ

"Serena, this is AJ, my brother" cried Jason, ignoring AJ.

"This is AJ!" asked Serena in shock. She had heard more than enough AJ stories to know that she hated the guy. She was regretting kissing him more and more, and she began to feel very grossed out. "Eww! I kissed him!" she said

"I know!" said Jason, his blue eyes turning icy cold with anger

"Jason, baby, I am so sorry. I had no idea. But technically, you have no right to be mad at me. I know why you're here. You're going to break up with me."

"What? Where'd you get that idea from?" asked Jason

"Look Goldenboy, it doesn't matter where she got the idea from, because the point is she's with me now. Not you"

"I don't think so" said Serena. "If I had known who you were, I definitely wouldn't be kissing you"

"Oh come on. Admit it, your attracted to me" said AJ, grabbing her arm

"Don't touch me" she said, trying to shake his arm off of hers, but AJ refused to let go.

"She said not to touch her" said Jason, ripping AJ's fingers off of her arm. "Get the hell out of here" said Jason

"Public place. You can't tell me what to do" said AJ with a smirk

"Let me help you leave" said Jason, punching AJ in the face.

An angry AJ got up and tried to punch Jason, but he blocked it and sent AJ tumbling to the ground.

"I think you should go" said Jason angrily

"And I think I should file an assault claim with the police" said AJ

"And I think…" said Serena as she kicked him in the gut while he was still down.

AJ just groaned as he looked up at the two angry figures bearing down at him.

"You two need anger management" said AJ, as he struggled to get up. Once he was up, he threw one last smirk at them before limping off.

Serena and Jason just stood there with one another, unsure of what to say. Jason was angry that she was kissing AJ, but at the same time, he was confused that she thought he was going to break up with her. Unless she left before him and Sonny had finished their conversation. Of course, that made sense.

"So, at what point in our conversation did you leave?" asked Jason, breaking the silence

"What?" asked Serena, turning so she could view his flawless features. She was hoping that this wasn't the last time she would get to look at him as her boyfriend. She wanted so desperately to reach up and caress his cheek, feeling his strong features. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and cuddle into his chest. But that wasn't going to happen.

"My conversation with Sonny. I know you were listening in. But you obviously left before we were finished, so I just wanted to fill you in on what you missed"

"I wasn't listening in on-"

"Serena, come on" said Jason, resisting the urge to take her hand in his and intertwine their fingers.

"You and Sonny were discussing how you and I were going to take a break. I mean come on Jason! What is this, _Friends_?" she asked.

Jason gave her a puzzled look.

"Right, you don't watch TV" said Serena with a slight roll of her eyes. "Never mind"

"Serena, if you had stuck around, you would have known that I fought Sonny on it. I told him that I couldn't live without you. I need you. And I wasn't about to waste any time away from you" he said

"Oh" said Serena, her face getting red. "So Sonny's not going to break us up?" she asked.

"No, Sonny is not going to break us up"

"Are you going to break up with me anyway?" she asked

"Why would I do that?" asked Jason

"Because I was making out with your disgusting brother" said Serena, staring down at her feet

"People make mistakes. And I love you too much to let AJ come in between us. Besides, kissing AJ was punishment enough. I don't want you to suffer any more than you already did" said Jason with a smile.

"I love you" she said, taking a step closer to him and slipping her hands into his.

"I love you too" he said as he leaned down and kissed her.

The kiss got more intense, and Jason undid his fingers from hers and placed his hands on her back. She winced and flinched as he did.

"Right, sorry" said Jason, feeling terrible that he had caused her pain.

"It's alright" she said, leaning into his chest and taking deep breaths as she waited for the moment of pain to pass. Even after his hands were gone, it still hurt.

"Come on, I'm taking you to the hospital"

"No, please don't. Just take me home" she said

Identifying with her hate for hospitals, he took his hand in hers and the two headed home.

* * *

That night, Serena lay in bed, trying to fall asleep. Deciding it was too painful to lie on her back, she flipped over to her stomach. This didn't go unnoticed by Jason, and he peered over at her. With the light of the moon pouring into the window, and the digital numbers of the clock illuminating the room, he was able to see her bruised back. It killed him. He should have been the one in pain. He was supposed to protect her. Yet she was the one suffering, and he had only the tiniest cut on his hand. She had a completely bruised back. He kissed her bare shoulder, and she smiled at him. She reached up and ran her hand through his short hair, and she pushed off a strand that was falling on to his forehead. He smiled at her as well, and kissed her inner arm that was lingering near his mouth as she played with his hair. 

She scooted over to him and threw her arm over his chest as she buried her face into his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her lower body, and let it rest on the back of her thigh rather than her back.

"I love you" he whispered.

"I love you too" she whispered back as she kissed his shoulder. "Goodnight"

"Goodnight beautiful" whispered Jason

* * *

She was not leaning back on to the couch, and Sonny noticed it. He sighed. He knew she refused to go to the hospital for the bruises, and he knew that it was killing Jason to watch her in pain. He looked over at Jason, who was sitting at the desk of the Corinthos penthouse, typing away at the laptop as he accessed Herena's files. 

Sonny walked over to the couch and handed Serena the cup of coffee. She just glared at him.

"Serena, I'm sorry" he said, sitting down next to her.

Jason glanced up, curious to see Serena's reaction. She turned the other way.

"I was upset that the plan didn't go how it was supposed to. And I snapped. I don't want you thinking I want you gone. You've become my surrogate little sister. Your Carly's friend, and the boys adore their aunt Serena. And don't even get me started on Jason" said Sonny, glancing over to where Jason was sitting. Jason looked up for a second and smiled at her. "Can you accept my apology?" asked Sonny

"Fine" said Serena curtly as she grabbed the cup of coffee from his hands.

Sonny just sighed, knowing that she would eventually get over it.

Kemen walked into the penthouse, eager to begin work. He kissed his baby sister's forehead, and made sure she was ok. She lied and told him she was.

"Got it" said Jason, as he uploaded Herena's money records. The group crowded around the laptop. Jason was in the chair with Serena on his lap, and Kemen and Sonny stood behind.

"There" said Serena as she pointed to the screen. "Delivery took place one week before explosion"

"That's our mark" said Sonny.

"Here's the address said Jason writing it down. "And look, its right here in Port

Charles."

"Figures" mumbled Sonny. "Alright, Jason, Kemen, go check it out"

"Alright, let's go" said Serena

"You're staying here" said Sonny.

"I don't think so" she said, getting off of Jason's lap so that she could be eye to eye with Sonny.

"Serena…" warned Sonny

"Sonny, no! I am not going to stay here and wait for everyone else to find something out. I am coming"

"Serena, you're hurt" said Sonny

"Barely" she scoffed.

"Alright" said Kemen. "Lean back against the couch than" he challenged.

"Fine" she said. She sat down and gritted her teeth, and lay back against the couch. It hurt having the pressure on her back, but she sucked it up. "There" she said

"Stay there for ten minutes and if you can, than you can go" said Kemen

"I'm with Kemen on this one" said Sonny

"Fine" said Serena, trying not to wince. She looked into Jason's eyes. She knew that he didn't want her coming. If she did, he would be so worried about her. He was convinced that something bad would happen again. And he definitely didn't want to see her hurt.

After 5 minutes, Serena thought her back was going to fall off. But she wasn't about to let Sonny win.

"Alright, enough! Stop!" yelled Jason as he looked over at her.

He had been watching her the whole time, and seeing her sit there in pain was more than he could bear.

"What's wrong man?" asked Sonny

"Serena, look at yourself. You are in too much pain" he said as he gently pulled her by the arms so that she wasn't leaning back anymore. "Just sit this one out. Please. For me?" asked Jason, looking into her eyes pleadingly.

"Fine" she said, dolefully.

"Thank you" said Jason, much more relaxed now that she wasn't sitting on the couch about to cry from the pain. He gently kissed her lips, feeling her soft lips massage his. He moaned a little as they broke away. He never wanted to leave her kisses. She touched his face and pressed her forehead to his.

"Be careful" she said softly

"I will be" he said as he kissed her one last time.

She stood up and hugged Kemen goodbye, also telling him to be careful. The two grabbed their jackets and guns and walked out, running into Carly and the boys as they did.

"Hey" said Carly to her husband and Serena.

"Hey" answered Serena with a sigh as she went to help Michael with his jacket.

"What's wrong?" asked Carly

"Business" said Sonny

Carly just rolled her eyes. "How come Serena gets to know?" asked Carly with a mock pout.

"Carly, you know why" said Sonny.

"Carly, do you mind if I talk to Sonny for a second?" asked Serena.

"Ah, sure, no problem. Come on Michael" said Carly as she walked up the stairs with Morgan

"What is it?" asked Sonny

"I just wanted to thank you" she said

"Thank me for what?"

"For looking out for me. The fact that you didn't want me going really means something to me" said Serena

"Oh, your welcome" said Sonny as he smiled at her

"I really do think of you as my big brother you know" she said with a shy smile

"And you will always be my baby sister" said Sonny as the two hugged.

"Go play with your kids" said Serena

"And what will you do"

"I dunno, maybe go get some lunch with Emily. She always wants to go"

"Alright, be safe" said Sonny as she walked out

"I always am" she said with a smile.

* * *

Jason carefully picked the lock on the door and walked into the house, Kemen on his tail. He walked down the long hallway, his gun out and ready for action. He stopped at the end of the corridor and peered around the corner. 

"Shit" he whispered

"What?" whispered Kemen

"Guards" hissed Jason. "Come on" he said motioning back with his hand. He tried the first door in the hallway that they had just come through. It was unlocked, and he carefully opened it.

"Take the room to my left. Look for any paper work or identification" whispered Jason to Kemen

"Got it" whispered Kemen as he left Jason to the first room.

The room was some sort of office. Jason's gloved hands opened the desk drawer, and he started looking through the paper work. Yet there was nothing useful. He opened up the file cabinets and rooted around on the book shelf, but nothing. He was about to leave the room when he knocked something off the shelf. He cursed under his breath at the noise it made, and was about to run out, when something caught his eye. The fallen object had broken, and inside of it was a key. He glanced at the key and pocketed it, unsure of what it led to.

"Who the hell are you?" asked a guard coming into the room and seeing Jason

Jason grabbed his gun and was about to shoot the guard when he felt excruciating pain in his abdomen. He doubled over from the pain and put his hands to it. When he pulled back, he was covered in blood. He had been shot. The guard's gun rang out a few more bullets, and Jason crumbled to the ground in a mess of blood.

* * *

Serena and Emily sat in the MetroCourt, talking and talking. Serena missed having girlfriends. She had a few good ones in college, but after she met Adrian and got involved in the assassin business, she had lost contact with them. 

"So, how are things with my brother?" asked Emily

"Things are…incredible" said Serena with a smile as she shyly looked down at her meal, her face getting red.

"You really do love him" said Emily with a smile. She recognized the look. The 'I'm so in love that it's disgusting' look.

"Yeahhh, I do" said Serena with a giggle.

"You planning on getting married?" she asked

"I don't know!" said Serena, laughing a little.

"If he asked you to, would you say yes?" asked Emily

"In a heart beat. But things are complicated right now. Business is a mess, and I just got out of a marriage. We just need to take things slow. And marriage or not, I know that the two of us will always be there for each other"

"And your ok with his business?" asked Emily, worried that her brother's heart would be broken once again

"Of course I am. I'm in it too. I'll admit it though; I worry. I worry that he won't come home to me. I worry that something terrible will happen. But I have to push it behind me. I just don't know what I would do without him. I don't know what I would do if something happened to him. If he got injured, or-. Oops, sorry, I have to take this" said Serena as her cell phone rang.

"How'd it go Kem?" she asked as she flipped her hair back behind her shoulder, ready to hear her brother's good news.

"No" she said, her hand flying to her mouth and her eyes brimming with tears. They spilled, and her cheeks became soaked. "NO!" she cried as Emily looked on in horror, knowing exactly what was wrong. The tears soaked down her face too, and she grabbed Serena's hand and gave it a squeeze.

* * *

A/N: Congratulations to Serena who guessed just who it was that Serena was kissing. Thanks to my only other reviewer, 5432run. Also, if anyone here is a JaSam fan, I have a new story up called _Girl in Your Dreams_ which you should check out. To see what the deal with Jason is, you have to review. Remember, 5 reviews are necessary! I have another 10 chapters of this story already written, and I'm still writing away. it's going to be a long one if people just take a little time out of their lives and drop me a line! 


	14. Too

A/N: So I threaten, and I threaten, and I threaten. And that still leaves me with no one taking me seriously. I said I wanted 5 reviews or I wasn't updating. And I didn't get 5 reviews, but I'm still updating. So this time, I want 5 reviews. I'm serious. I will hold up the threat this time. Anyway, read on...**

* * *

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**Chapter 14- Too**

"My boyfriend was admitted here about ten minutes ago. I need to know his room number! Right now!" yelled Serena as she ran into the hospital.

"His name is Jason Morgan. I'm his sister" said Emily, trying to keep calm as Serena freaked.

Kemen wasn't very specific on his current condition on the phone. All he told her was that Jason had been shot multiple times, and he had managed to get him out and to the hospital.

"Look ladies, Mr. Morgan is in surgery right now. If you take a seat-" said the nurse as she popped her gum

"Don't 'if you take a seat' me lady. I want you to tell me exactly where he is right now or I will rip that gum out of your mouth and strangle you to death with it!" yelled Serena

"Shh, calm" said Emily, trying to pull Serena back from the nurse.

Luckily, Carly ran up at that point and pulled Serena into a big hug.

"Where is he?" she asked, looking so sad.

"This way" said Carly as she pulled Emily and Serena along with her, all three ignoring the nurses' protests.

They arrived in a waiting room where Sonny and Kemen were sitting, waiting for news. Serena cringed when she saw Kemen's blood stained clothes. That was Jason's blood. She unwillingly shivered, and Emily wrapped her arms around her.

"How is he?" asked Serena to Sonny and Kemen

Sonny sighed. "We're not sure yet. Monica took him into surgery. Hopefully she'll be out soon with news"

"How many times was he shot?" she asked

"5 times. Three times in the chest, once in the arm, and once in the side" said Kemen, looking down.

"Oh god!" said Serena, running her hands through her hair and trying not to pass out.

"Come on, sit down" said Emily, ushering her to a chair.

* * *

It was an hour later and there was still no news on Jason. Kemen had gone off to take care of keeping the police off the case. Nikolas had arrived to give Emily emotional support, and the two were holding each other tightly. Sonny and Carly were doing the same. And here she was- alone. She had Jason's leather jacket in her hands. Some nurse had brought it out to her, yet she had no news on him. So now, everyone else was holding their lovers, yet hers was lying there dying. Or possibly dead. She shed more tears as she wrapped Jason's jacket tightly to herself. It had some dried blood on it, and she knew that once she got home, and he was ok, she would be able to clean it for him. And he would be ok. He just had to be. She didn't know what she would do without him. 

"It's ironic, isn't it?" she asked Emily

"What do you mean?" Em asked her

"We were just talking about losing Jason, and here we are, losing Jason"

"We are not losing Jason" said Carly as she kneeled down in front of Serena, her determined eyes brimming with tears. "Jason is strong. He will pull through"

"Tell me Carly? How does one pull through 5 bullet wounds?" asked Serena cynically.

"He will" said Emily, just as determined as Carly. "We just all need to think positively"

"Positively!" scoffed Serena. "How do you expect me to think positively! If he dies, you all lose a friend, or a brother. I lose my soul mate! I lose everything. So go back to the arms of your lovers, because my lover's in there, fighting for his life!" she yelled, motioning to the operating room.

Unable to take it anymore, she stormed off, Jason's jacket in her arms. She didn't know where she was going, but she was going. She found herself on the roof of the hospital. She sighed and looked up at the stars. The stars always had a way of making her feel insignificant. The only one who was ever able to take that insignificance away was Jason. What was she going to do without him? She had given up her stability for him. She had left her husband, and her family. She had given up everything she ever knew. But it was worth it. He was worth it. Yet now she had nothing. She sighed and sat down, leaning on the wall of the ledge. She was too everything. Too tired. Too cried out. Too upset. Too worried. It wasn't good to have so many 'too's". She closed her eyes for a second, hoping to make the pain go away. She was startled out of her darkness by Carly's voice. She opened her eyes and she saw Carly's mouth start to move. The tears were streaming down her face. The only thing Serena was able to understand was "dead". That was it. Jason was dead.

It was too much. Another too. Serena was done crying. She couldn't take it anymore. She calmly got up, and started walking toward Carly. That one word kept repeating in her head. "Dead". It was a terrible word. Serena couldn't do it. She couldn't handle it. She felt the blood rush to her head. Her ear started buzzing, and everything kind of went fuzzy. Like she was watching an old broken TV set. She lost the feeling in her fingers, and then let darkness take her. She was fighting too much. She gave up, and passed out.

* * *

It had been two days since he had died. Carly was arranging the funeral- Serena just didn't have the heart to. She didn't have the heart to do anything. She sat in the penthouse, in his clothes, cuddled up with his pillow, just breathing in his scent. She knew eventually it would be gone. Eventually, that would be it. The whole place would start to smell like her, and only her. She desperately didn't want that. How had he died? He had dealt with so much, made it back from the brink of death so many times, yet here he was, completely gone. Had she really clouded his head that much? She sighed as she heard a knock on the door. Kemen came in, and told her that it was time. She had to get ready for the funeral. 

"This is so dumb" she said

"What is mi subio?" asked Kemen as he held her in his arms

"A funeral. What is it? Just a time when we stick a corpse in a box and bury them so that they can rot away. But Jason's barely a corpse, right? Because 5 extra holes in a person's body really screws them up. No matter how many stitches"

"Don't you want him to rest in peace?" asked Kemen

"No, I don't. I want him to be miserable, knowing that he left me here" she said getting up off the couch. "He is so selfish!" she cried. "How could he do this to me! How could he just leave? How?" she yelled. She finally cried for the first time since the roof of the hospital. It was the first time she cried after finding out he was dead. "I am so angry Kemen" she said as she broke down on to the floor. Kemen jumped off the couch and hugged her close.

"I know, I know" said Kemen as he planted a kiss on her forehead. "But you need to say goodbye. You need to make your peace with this"

"Kemen, I can't. And I don't want to. I'm not going" she said

"To the funeral?" asked Kemen

"To the funeral" said Serena, furiously wiping away her tears as she abruptly stopped crying.

"Serena, come on. You're going to regret not going"

"No, I won't" she said. "Kemen, I am seriously not going to do this. I will not stand there and watch people who hate Jason pity me. Or people who love Jason pity me. I don't want anyone's pity"

"Serena-"

"Kemen. No." she said as she maneuvered her way out of his grasp and stalked upstairs.

She lied down in the bed and tried to breathe deeply, wishing so much for Jason to be there and hold her in his arms.

* * *

"She's not going" said Kemen as he walked into the Corinthos penthouse. 

"What do you mean she's not going?" asked Sonny

"She refuses to go. She's angry at him for leaving her, plus, she doesn't want anyone's pity"

"I don't blame her" said Carly softly. She hadn't been the same since Jason's death.

"We should go" said Sonny as he wrapped his arms around his wife. Carly picked up Morgan, and Sonny was about to call up to Michael when he noticed the little boy was already sitting on the stairs.

"If Aunt Serena's not going, I'm not going" said Michael

"Michael, don't you want to say goodbye to your Uncle"

"No! He promised he'd be there for me, and he's not. He lied to me, just like he did to Aunt Serena. I'm not going. I'll stay here with Leticia" he said.

"Alright" said Sonny, not having the heart to argue, although he knew both Serena and Michael would later regret not going.

* * *

Serena didn't know what to do with herself. She was just thinking about the happier times when she was disturbed by the patter of little feet. 

"Aunt Serena!" cried Michael as he jumped onto the bed.

"What's wrong kiddo?" asked Serena.

"I couldn't go to the funeral either" he said as he looked into his aunt's eyes.

"Oh" she said, trying hard to give the little boy a smile, but finding it impossible

"Uncle Jason took care of me for the first year of my life. And he took care of me after that too. While Mom and Dad worked out their problems, Uncle Jason was always there. And now he's gone. And I never got a chance to say goodbye"

"I know the feeling" said Serena "I wish I got to tell him I loved him one last time, or kiss him one last time"

"We need closure" said Michael looking up at her.

"You're too smart for your own good, you know that?" said Serena

"Yeah" said Michael, earning him a smile from Serena, despite the tears that were running down her face.

"What do you say you and me go and get our closure" said Serena helping him up.

"Michael! There you are!" cried Leticia running into the room. "Don't scare me like that again" she scolded.

"Sorry" mumbled Michael

"Leticia? Can you help Michael get dressed? And hurry, we have a funeral to get to" said Serena

* * *

15 minutes later, the doors of the church were flung open. Serena and Michael stormed in, and Sonny smiled at them. 

"We couldn't sit back without saying goodbye" whispered Serena to Sonny as she and Michael sat down in the front pew with their family.

The funeral was beautiful for lack of a better word. Emily and Sonny spoke, and they both said it perfectly. Serena couldn't keep her eyes off the picture of Jason that was up in the front of the church. He was smiling, something he rarely did. Unless of course he was with her. She was ready to give up. She closed her eyes and just let herself sob onto Emily's shoulder as they listened to the priest talk. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to make the whole horrible ordeal go away.

"Serena. Serena come on. Serena…" said Emily

Serena opened her eyes and looked at Emily. And her face said everything. Serena couldn't believe it. Standing in front of her was Emily. But…

* * *

A/N: But what? Review to find out, remember what I said. 5 reviews! 


	15. Back to Reality

A/N: I smell something fishy. I did indeed get my 5 reviews. However, not all were for this chapter. And only one was signed. Things were weird, but I don't care. The point is I got them. So, thanks to 5432run, GHER45, liz, alexandria, and carla. Hmm, not sure exactly what happened with this chapter, but I'm glad people at least read and reviewed. I think. Based on the hit counter and everything I'm kinda suspecting someone (not naming anyone but I have my suspicions) submitted multiple reviews under different names. And you know what, I don't care. If you are that into the story, go for it! I'll update! So, 5 more reviews for this chapter, knock yourself out however you go about doing it. And, if I'm right, whoever did that thanks for being so into the story!**

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**Chapter 15- Back to Reality**

"Serena. Serena come on. Serena…" said Emily

Serena opened her eyes and looked at Emily. And her face said everything. Serena couldn't believe it. Standing in front of her was Emily. But… she wasn't in the church. She was on the roof of the hospital. She was very disoriented, but she was still able to figure out what had happened. She had dreamed Jason's death. The funeral never happened. She was still sitting on the roof, and now she was staring at Emily.

"I was looking all over for you" said Emily. "My mom should be out with news on Jason any minute"

"So he's not dead?" she asked

"We don't know yet" said Emily, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Em, I had a terrible dream. Jason was gone. And it hurt so much" she said as she and Emily hugged.

"I know. I know" said Emily, mirroring what Kemen had said to her in her dream. She got the chills, hoping that that was the extent of her life mirroring her dream.

* * *

The two girls made it back into the waiting room just in time to see Monica emerge. Her face looked somber, and Serena tried to swallow a new round of tears. 

"I have news on Jason" she said, although everyone already knew she did.

"How is he?" asked Nikolas, being the only one there who was able to speak

Monica sighed. "He doesn't look so good. He lost so much blood, and he had a lot of internal damage. I-I don't know if he's going to make it through the night. It'll be a miracle. He's unconscious now from the blood loss. I don't know if he'll wake up" said Monica as she cried for her son. She never stopped loving him, despite his efforts to push her away.

"Can we see him?" asked Serena quietly

"He's really not supposed to have visitors. But- go right in" said Monica whispering the last part.

The whole group snuck into Jason's hospital room. He was lying in the bed, very very pale. His face still had some blood on it, and he was hooked up to an incredible amount of machines. Serena got a damp cloth from the bathroom in his room and sat down at the stool next to his bed. She started cleaning his face, getting rid of the blood. She ignored the other people in the room. She ignored Emily and Carly staring at their rock lie so still, Sonny watching his brother in pain, and Nikolas just looking uncomfortable. They stood by the bed, allowing Serena to be the closest to him. She just brushed his hair off his forehead and washed his face. She felt his five o'clock shadow, and she sighed. Everyone stood there for a few minutes without saying anything.

"He looks like he's just asleep and going to wake up any second, doesn't he" said Carly softly

"Yeah" agreed Emily.

The rest of the night was like that. Everyone just stood around him, unsure of what to say. Finally, Monica came in and told them that they really had to leave. They all regretfully piled out of the room. That is, everyone except for Serena. She refused to leave his bedside. Of course, no one argued with her.

"Scoot over Morgan" she whispered once everyone was gone. She knew he couldn't 'scoot over', but she wasn't ready to accept that. She climbed into the bed with him, and rested her head on his shoulder. She looked under his hospital gown and sighed at the stitches she saw, accompanied by the bruises.

"And you were worried about me getting hurt" she said as she kissed his cheek.

"I love you" she said, as she fell asleep in his arms.

* * *

"What happened?" asked Sonny to Kemen as they arrived back at Sonny's penthouse. 

"I'm not sure. All I know is I heard the gun shots, and I ran in to find the guard. I shot him, and got Jason out of there."

"Whose house was it anyway?" asked Sonny

"I'm not sure. I wasn't able to find anything out. The room I was looking in was worthless. There was a safe, but it was locked"

"We need to get into that safe" said Sonny

"I know" said Kemen.

"But right now, we need to focus on Jason" said Sonny

"I know" said Kemen again, worried sick about his little sister. She seemed so different now that Jason was in that hospital bed. She seemed weaker. She seemed destructible.

* * *

He didn't know what was going on. It hurt. It hurt so much. He wanted to moan, but he found no noise came out of his mouth. He felt something warm on his arm. But his other side felt cold. Something wasn't right. Was he being held somewhere? Was he kidnapped? He tried to open his eyes, but he found he was too tired. He tried again, and this time, it worked. He looked around at his surroundings. It was sterile and white. He was in the hospital. He recognized it as General Hospital. He ignored the pain and looked down at the warm thing on his arm. It was a girl. Specifically, his girl. His Serena. He smiled a little to see her there. He moved a little to get a better look at her, but let out a groan as pain shot through his body. The groan was enough to wake her, and she shot up. 

"Oh my god" she said, one hand flying to her mouth. "Jason?" she questioned

"Hi" he said softly, unable to say more. His throat hurt too much, and even the one word had come out scratchy

"You're alive" she said as she let out a sigh of relief,

He smiled at her. He closed his eyes in comfort when he felt her hand on his cheek, and then brushing his spiky hair off of his forehead. She bent down and kissed his forehead and told him she'd be right back. The second she left he was cold again. He wanted her to be with him. A minute later she returned with Bobbi.

"Good morning Jason" said Bobbi with a smile as she looked at him.

He moaned and grabbed for Serena's hand. She went over to him and took his hand, holding it tightly. Bobbi checked him out and declared him a miracle. With some intensive healing, he would be ok. He had defied the odds by waking up. Serena briefly let go of his hand to get him some water. She held the cup to his lips and he gratefully drank in the cool liquid. She bent down and kissed his forehead again as she played with his hair. He smiled at her.

"I'm so glad you're ok" she mumbled

"Me too" he said looking into his eyes. "Serena, I need to tell you something" he said

"What is it?" she asked

"When we were in that house, I found something and-"

"Jason, I don't want to hear it" she said. "Don't worry about business"

"Serena, this is important. Do you have my jacket?" he asked

"Yeah, right here" she said holding up his leather coat.

"In the left pocket, there's a key. I don't know what it leads to, but it has to be important. It was very well hidden" he said.

But the talking was too much and he found it hard to breathe. He started coughing, and she ran to his side, sitting down on the bed and caressing his face.

"Shh, it's ok" she said, trying to calm him down

"Serena, I've got to get out of here"

"No, you need to rest" she said

"Serena, I can't stay here. You know I hate hospitals"

"Jason, you were shot 5 times. You were supposed to die. It's a miracle that you pulled through, so you're just going to have to deal with the hospital" she said stubbornly.

She was interrupted by the Corinthos family and Emily walking into the room, all happy to see Jason. Family bonding time lasted about an hour. Michael was upset to see his strong Uncle Jason like this, but Jason was able to assure him that he was ok. Finally, the family left, and it was just Serena and Jason again.

"Get some sleep" she whispered

"Only if you're with me" he said

"I'll be right here" she said sitting back down on the stool.

"You need sleep too. Come and lie down with me" he said moving over so there was room for her in the bed too.

"No, it's ok" said Serena

"What aren't you telling me?" he asked

"Nothing" she said, breaking the eye contact.

"Hey, it's me. You can tell me anything" he said

"Alright," she said sighing, "I had this really bad dream. And in it, you died, and you left me. And it was just too much to bear. And Jason, I don't want to have that dream again"

"You don't have to" he said as he played with a strand of her hair, "'cause I'm not going anywhere"

"How can you promise me that?" she asked him

"I can't. But you can't promise me you won't leave either. It's the risk of our job. But it's something we both need to accept, and move past"

"Your right" she whispered, climbing into the bed with him. "You're taking up too much room"

"I was shot 5 times; I'm allowed to take up as much room as I want"

"Nah-ah" she said

"Are you 6 years old?"

She rolled her eyes at him and smiled. She was so glad that he was ok. She positioned herself in the bed so that she was leaning on his less injured side. He pulled her in tighter to himself, and breathed in a sigh of relief that she was in his arms. She was perfect. She was beautiful, smart, funny, and understanding. He felt terrible for putting her through this whole ordeal.

"I'm sorry" he said, his eyes closed as he tried to make the scene go away. He wanted the stark white walls of the hospital to be gone, and instead be somewhere better with her. She deserved it.

"For what?" she asked softly, cuddling in deeper to his warm embrace.

"For everything. For putting you through this. For getting shot, and for scaring you. And making you worry so much about me. And for giving you another excuse not to live a better life. You deserve so much better than this. You're so much smarter than this. You could do anything you want, but you're tied down to me and this lifestyle. I've taken away any chance you have at a better life" he said sadly.

"Jase, what are you talking about?" she asked, touching his face. "I was in this business long before you came into my life, and I always will be. Don't let Kemen fill your head with crap about me being better than this. This is the life I chose. I didn't want to be in some stuffy office, miserable and hating my job. I wanna do something with a little excitement. And I am not tied down to anything. I choose to be with you because I love you. And the next time you give me this whole 'doubting myself feeling sorry for myself' attitude, I'm gonna take you down, bullet wounds or not. Got it?" she asked, turning into her tough self at the end of her speech.

"Got it" he said, looking at her with his love sick smile.

"Good" she said, bending down to kiss her. "Now go to sleep"

"But-"

"I don't wanna hear it" she ordered. "Not another word"

"But I just wanted to tell you that I love you" he mouthed at her.

"I love you too" she said, smiling at him.

"See, that didn't count as another word" he said proudly.

"Yes, but that just counted as a whole lot of –nother words. Go to sleep" she said, settling back down into his arms.

He pulled her back tightly to him, and focused on her spunk, beauty, and perfection, instead of the pain he had put her through.

* * *

"What's the legal definition for insanity?" Jason asked Emily as she sat by his bedside, reading a magazine. 

"The inability to tell right from wrong" she answered, not looking up from her magazine

"So it's not being out of your mind?"

"That's the clinical definition" she answered.

"Ok. Emily?"

"Yes Jason"

"I think I've gone clinically insane"

"Jason, it's been a week. You have only been in bed for a week" she said throwing down her magazine

"It's been the longest week of my life" he moaned. "I'm fine you know" he said.

"Sure. Except your not" she answered, going back to _Vogue_.

"Look Em, just let me get out of this bed and take a little walk"

"And risk Serena cutting off my head? I don't think so?"

"Em…" he whined.

She looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

"Hey, you miss me?" asked Serena walking in to Jason's room and giving him a kiss.

Her hair was still wet from the shower she had gone home to take, as she didn't want to spend the time to dry it with Jason still in the hospital. Plus, she knew he had been trying to sneak out of bed.

"How is he?" she asked Emily, acting like Jason wasn't even there.

"Other then developing a mild case of cabin fever and the ability to whine, the patient is in top condition"

"Does that mean I can go home?" he asked, sitting up in the bed.

"Shh baby, let the adults talk" she said, easily pushing him back into bed without even turning around to look at him.

"You've gotten more sarcastic since I've been shot" he said.

"What does that tell you?" she asked, finally turning around to face him with a big smile on her face.

"I'm gonna take off. See you guys later" said Emily as she got up and left.

"Seriously, how do you feel?" asked Serena, her voice softening as she sat down on the bed next to him.

"I'm fine"

"Nothing hurts, no broken stitches?" she asked, pulling back the covers to look at his wounds.

"I'm on heavy painkillers- I cant feel anything"

"Explains the whining and pouting" she said, caressing his face again.

"You don't need to constantly be here you know. You can take the time to eat, and sleep, and wash all the shampoo out of your hair" he said, pulling a gloop of shampoo out of her hair.

"Eww, that's kinda gross" she said with a laugh. "But I'm not leaving your side. And I know if the positions were reversed, you wouldn't leave mine"

"You're so incredible and beautiful" he said, captivated by the sight of her as he ran a hand over her face.

"Even with shampoo in my hair?" she asked

"Even with shampoo in your hair" he said, sitting up to kiss her.

When they broke away, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in tight for a hug.

"Where do Sonny and Kemen stand on getting back into that house?" asked Jason

"No. No business"

"Serena, come on. Did they find out if that key definitely goes to that safe Kemen found?"

"Not yet. But they're looking into it. Don't worry"

Jason sighed. Serena tried to copy him with a sigh of her own, but instead a yawn came out.

"Your exhausted" he said, looking at her drooping eyelids.

"I'm fine" she said.

"Babe, come on. Go home and come back tomorrow. Take another shower, eat something, and get some sleep. I don't need you making yourself sick"

"I'm not making myself sick" she argued.

"Go home" he said.

"Love you too" she mocked, pressing her forehead to his.

"I do love you. Which is why I need you to go home" he answered.

"Alright, fine. But I don't like this" she said, getting out of the bed. "I'm gonna call Carly"

"What for?"

"Someone needs to sit with you"

"I'm a big boy. I can lie here all by myself. I'll just watch TV or something"

"You sure?" she asked.

"I'm sure" he answered.

"Fine, but don't you dare get out of this bed" she warned. "I'd hate to have to kick your ass"

"There will be no ass-kicking. I will stay in bed" he said.

"Your damn right you will, Sonny posted a guard outside of your door"

"Your kidding me"

"Nope, it's for your protection. This unnamed enemy or one of Herena's men could still try to kill you. And with you lying here out of order, you cant protect yourself"

"I don't need a guard" he said

"I'm gonna go now" she said, ignoring him. "I love you" she said, bending down to kiss him.

"I love you too. Goodnight" he said, deciding it was no use arguing with her.

"Goodnight" she replyed, turning around at the doorway to blow him another kiss

Once she was out of an ear shot, Jason sighed with relief.

"Sorry Serena, but I need to do this" he said, swinging his legs out of the bed.

* * *

A/N: haha. I got you all. You guys thought Jason was dead. Silly little readers. I love Jason and I wouldn't kill him off, I just torture him. Although, if I don't get my reviews I may be forced to have the man gunned down or something. I'm just saying...remember that I need 5 reviews. 


	16. The Safe

A/N: I only got one review and that made me angry. But I haven't updated in two weeks so I know that no one is going to find the story 'cause it'll be so far back on the pages. So, I'm going for three reviews and an immediate update. If not, I'll wait around a month, or I'll just give up on the story. It's your choice.**

* * *

**

**Chapter 16- The Safe**

Once she was out of an ear shot, Jason sighed with relief.

"Sorry Serena, but I need to do this" he said, swinging his legs out of the bed.

He gladly noted that she had left his leather jacket. But looking down at himself, he noticed he didn't have the proper clothes on. His plan was to sneak over to Sonny's, look through what the man had found out already, and then take matters into his own hands. He needed to get back to that house, and into that safe. Jason opened the door to his room just a crack, and sure enough, he saw a guard standing outside. Taking a deep breath, he swung the door open and caught the surprised guard in a headlock. Dragging him into the room, he took the man's gun.

"Mr. Morgan, what are you doing?" asked the guard, staring wearily at the gun Jason was brandishing.

"What's your name?" he asked the man.

"Phillip" answered the scared man.

"Alright Phillip, I'm going to need your clothes" he said.

"My clothes?" Phillip asked in a feeble voice.

"You heard me, your clothes" he said, his eyes cold and remorseless as he slipped into business mode.

Phillip hastily removed his clothes and left them for Jason. Jason ripped up the sheets from the bed and led Phillip into the bathroom. He tied the frightened man up and gagged him, leaving the bathroom and shutting the door tightly behind him. He then took off the hospital gown and put on Phillip's suit. The only problem was, Phillip was a huge man, and the clothes were huge on him. Jason needed to make the belt as tight as possible to stop the pants from sliding down, and the shirt was huge as well. Jason forewent the jacket and tie, and instead grabbed his own leather coat.

Jason waited a few hours and just sat on the bed, planning what he was going to do. When he was content that it was late enough, and Sonny and Carly would be in bed, he put his feet into the huge shoes, and grabbed Phillip's car keys. He snuck out of the room, carefully avoiding any nurses or doctors that he saw. He made his way down to the parking lot, and pressed the beeper until he found Phillip's black SUV. Getting behind the wheel, Jason sped off toward the Harborview Towers.

* * *

Making his way up to the penthouses, Jason came face to face with the night guard. 

"Mr. Morgan?" questioned the man.

"Shh, I was never here" he answered, threatening the scared man with his gun.

The guard knew what Jason was capable of, and his fear for the man would guarantee that he wouldn't tell a soul Jason was there. Jason cast a remorseful glance to his penthouse door. He knew Serena was in there, asleep, but probably having worried dreams about him. He felt terrible for sneaking behind her back and for being so close to her but not even going to give her a comforting kiss. But he needed to snap back into enforcer mode. He needed to do his job.

Jason silently opened the door to Sonny's penthouse, and walked over to Sonny's desk. Rooting through the drawers, he was unable to find the key. Cursing under his breath, he decided to go back to the house, and look around anyway. Maybe he could find something this time that he couldn't find before.

* * *

He walked back down to the parking lot and got into the car. He sped off to the house, and got back out. He walked down the familiar hallway, and was about to enter the room Kemen had been in. He opened the door and slowly walked in. He saw a dark figure leaning over a safe. The person was opening it. Jason crept over and in one swift motion, covered the person's mouth with his hand and grabbed their body with his other so they couldn't struggle. Pulling them back so he could see a face, he gasped. 

"Serena?" he questioned, removing his hand from her mouth.

"Jason? What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be in the hospital" she hissed.

"What are you doing here?" he asked

"I'm working, but that still doesn't tell me what you're doing here!"

"I'm working too"

"You're supposed to be resting!" she snapped.

"You are too" he snapped back

"That is totally different. You're supposed to be recovering from 5 bullet wounds, remember?"

"I am recovering"

"How?"

"By finding out exactly why I was shot"

"Jason, come on, I'm taking you back to the hospital. How did you even get out? What happened to Phillip? What are you wearing…oh Jase, you didn't?" she said.

"Didn't what?" he asked trying to act innocent.

"Oh, poor little guy" she said.

"Little? He's not so little"

"I know. You look ridiculous" she said, grabbing at the extra material at his crotch area.

"Serena, now is not the time" he said through gritted teeth, reluctantly pulling away from her.

"Fine, but I'm using that one next time I just want to go to sleep" she said with a smile. "Now come on, let's get you back to the hospital"

"Serena, I'm not going. Now, is that the key?" he asked.

"Yeah" she answered, holding up the small metal object.

"Come on, open it up. Did you check the security?"

"Of course, no protection on the safe. Just this key" she answered as she put it in the lock and turned it.

The safe was opened, revealing a single piece of paper.

"What the hell is this?" whispered Serena, grabbing it.

She took out a flashlight and shone it on the paper. Jason crowded next to her and the two read the paper. It simply read: "Sorry Corinthos clan, but I wasn't about to let you win. I know that Morgan found this key. Hope the 5 extra holes in his body didn't hurt too much"

Serena cursed under her breath and threw the paper down with a frustrated sigh.

"Wait a second" said Jason. "We can take the note and compare it to the handwriting of all of Sonny's enemies. We have notes and various other letters from all of them from over the years"

"Perfect, let's take it and go. We need to get you back to the hospital" said Serena.

"I'm fine" lied Jason.

Truthfully, he had been clutching his side since he had grabbed Serena. He knew that he had ripped the stitches, and he could feel the warm blood seeping out. But he didn't dare tell her. The last thing he needed was to worry her. He would just get back to the hospital later and Monica would patch him up.

"Let's just go, we'll argue later" said Serena, taking him by the hand and leading him out of the house.

* * *

They made it down the road where they both had parked their cars, and Serena sighed. She smiled at him and told him that she hadn't given him a proper hello. She pressed her lips to his, and they soon intensified the kiss. She reached her hand closer to his body, feeling underneath his jacket. She pulled her hand back in horror and looked at it. 

"Jase, is that blood?" she asked nervously. "Are you bleeding?"

"It's nothing" he said, trying to brush it off.

She pulled back his jacket and stared at his shirt. The white shirt was stained red with all of his blood.

"Where's it coming from?" she asked him in a scared voice.

"I must have just ripped a stitch or two" he mumbled.

Truthfully, he was feeling a little woozy. His knees were feeling weak, and he was seeing spots. He just stood there as Serena ripped his shirt opened and looked at his wound. Suddenly, he felt the world start to spin really, really fast. He faintly heard her calling his name, but then he lost it, slipping into a world of darkness.

* * *

"Oh Jason. The things you do. But your blood pressures good, a nice heartbeat. You'll be fine. But it's time to wake up" said a voice. 

Jason opened his eyes to reveal a very fuzzy looking Monica standing over him.

"Monica?" he mumbled. "Where's Serena, is she ok?"

She laughed at him. "Always concerned about Serena, and not yourself. She's fine. But are you?"

"I have a little headache, what happened?"

"You ripped out all of the stitches in your side and passed out from the lack of blood. Serena brought you back in last night. We got you back into bed, and let that poor man out of the bathroom" she said.

Jason groaned and tried to grab at his head to stop the searing pain. To his surprise, he couldn't move his arms. Fearing for a second he was paralyzed, he looked down and saw that he was being restrained.

"The hospital's tying me to the bed now?" he asked, pulling hard on his binds.

"Actually, your girlfriend's tying you to the bed now"

"Serena?"

"Yup. Jason, just a heads up, she is furious with you. She was going on and on about how you don't care about her"

"How could she say that?" asked Jason.

"Think about it from her point of view. You keep putting yourself in unnecessarily dangerous situations, and one day, it just might kill you. And how's she going to feel if you die? You didn't see her when she was waiting for you to come out of surgery the other day- she was a mess. Take care of her by taking care of yourself, alright?"

"Alright" he answered softly. "Can you send her in, I wanna talk to her"

"Jase, she's not here"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I told you she was angry"

"Angry enough not to come?" he asked, his heart breaking.

"Sonny's outside" answered Monica, staring at the visibly upset man lying there in front of her. "I'll send him in" she said, refusing to meet Jason's eyes.

* * *

"Hey man, how you doing?" asked Sonny, sitting on the stool near Jason's bed. 

"Why won't she come see me?" he asked his brother right away.

"She's really angry with you Jase" said Sonny with a sigh.

"Angry enough not to care about me anymore?" asked Jason. "Angry enough not to care if I never woke up?"

"No, she cared enough to be angry. Don't you get it man; she's worried sick about you. I know you got used to having no one to come home to again, but you have someone now. And Serena loves you so much, and if something happened to you, she'd be destroyed."

"Sonny, I need to see her"

"I know you do. I'll get her to come down here, don't worry" said Sonny with a smile as he got up. "Get some rest" he said patting Jason's shoulder.

"Bye" mumbled Jason.

Sonny turned and smiled at him, leaving him alone again. Jason lied back down against the pillows and stared at his wrists. He tugged at them a little, as if he could take off the restraints with just a little pull. They were soft, so they didn't hurt, but the fact that she wasn't with him hurt. He sighed, and decided just to wait for her. He gave her ten minutes before she came rushing down to see him.

But two hours later, his only visitor had been a nurse, taking his vitals. He was about to give up on her, and just try to fall asleep to numb his pain, when he heard the click of a pair of expensive heels on the floor. He looked up hopefully, and a warmth over took him as he looked at her and smiled. She however, was just glaring at him from the door way, her eyes angry as she leaned against the frame.

"I knew you couldn't stay away" said Jason with another smile as he looked at her.

But she didn't answer him, she just glared at him.

"Come on baby, don't be mad. Come here and kiss me, and do that thing with your lips that drives me crazy" he said.

Again, nothing but a glare.

"Serena, come on. Look, I obviously can't go over to you" he said, motioning with his head to the restraints.

Glare.

"I'm thirsty?" he tried, hoping that if his emotional needs wouldn't get a reaction out of her, than his physical ones would.

"Good" she answered with the same glare before turning around on her heel and walking out.

As she did, Carly walked in.

"She's still mad, huh?" said Carly, sitting down next to his bedside.

It was Jason's turn to just glare.

"You two are so similar" said Carly with a chuckle. "I swear, it's the same angry stare"

"Your right, we are similar" said Jason as it dawned on him. "I would be so angry with her if she was the one who had left the hospital. But I wouldn't stay away from her. I'd be angry with her by her side"

"She'll come around"

"She's not going to break up with me, is she?" asked Jason, uncharacteristically worried.

"Nah, she won't. She loves you too much to just walk away. Get some rest, you'll feel better after you take a nap"

"I don't need a nap. I need Serena"

"She's probably home sleeping, she didn't get much sleep last night"

"Can't she sleep here?" he asked.

"Your whining again Jason, but I'll just blame it on the drugs"

"Tell her I love her" said Jason.

"I will, don't worry" said Carly, getting up and giving Jason a peck on the forehead as she did.

"Carly?"

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Untie me, please"

"Sorry, but I don't want to risk the wrath of Serena. Get some sleep" said Carly, walking out.

Jason growled in frustration, but decided to take Carly's advice. Closing his eyes, he tried to fall asleep. He comforted himself with happy Serena thoughts, and he soon let sleepiness overtake him.

* * *

When Serena walked back into his room, Jason was out cold. She smiled in spite of herself and she took the seat next to his bedside. She brushed some hair off of his forehead and she tenderly touched his cheek. 

"You drive me crazy" she said, leaning her forehead against his.

She sighed, and gently undid the restraints binding him to the bed. She kissed his wrists as she set them free, and gently placed them on his side. Pushing down the metal bars of the bed that the restraints had previously been attached to, she removed her shoes and climbed into the bed with him. She snuggled into his chest, and in his sleep, he wrapped his arms around her. She too allowed sleep to overtake her, and she smiled as she felt him hold her tighter to himself.

* * *

A/N: Remember to review! I've kinda forgotten about this story and I have more than half a mind to abandon it. It's become more of a burden and I don't know if I want to continue it for just one reader. 


	17. Love Hurts

A/N: Alright, and here it is. We are in the homestretch. I just started another story so I really want to finish this one. I have up to chapter 22 written and I am going to only make it a few more chapters after that. Once I have it all, I'm just going to post it all at once. This story has kind of become a hassle, and the reviews have been few and far between. I do however want to finish it the right way. I am not going to put in everything I planned, but I am going to finish what I started. I could technically end it after this chapter and just do an epilogue, but I wrote another part and I want to share it with you guys. So I'll finish that part and then it'll be done. So reviews would be nice, but no threats this time.

And BTW, Lenny is just the name of a random guard. I made it up 'cause I needed an extra guy and couldn't think of a name off the top of my head of someone who worked for Sonny.

* * *

**Chapter 17- Love Hurts**

"That is not taking it easy" Serena reprimanded Jason as he attempted to lift her up in his arms as they walked back into the penthouse.

"Uh-oh. Am I being a naughty boy? Do I need a spanking?" he asked her playfully, raising one eye brow.

"Cute Jase. Real cute" she said as she brushed past him and walked into the kitchen. "Sit!" she commanded from the kitchen, and he did as she said. "Here" she said, walking out of the kitchen and passing him a glass of water.

"The one word sentences aren't really working for me" he joked, earning himself a death glare.

"I know you're not still mad at me for something I did a week ago" he said, kissing her neck.

"I am mad. I am so mad that I don't plan on letting you touch me for the next three months. And after that…then…you…I…what the hell was I saying?" she asked as she became distracted by his kisses.

"I love you more than life itself" he told her.

"I know you do, and that scares me" she said, resting her forehead on his.

He ran his hands through her hair and she sweetly kissed his lips, forgetting about any anger that she had at him. She hugged him tight and to her surprise, she finally let it all out. He felt his t-shirt beginning to get wet and he pulled her back and looked at her. She had tears running non-stop down her cheeks. She put her head in her hands and started sobbing, hiccupping as she did.

"Hey, it's ok. Come here" he said, holding her in his arms.

She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing as he rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her down. With each hiccup, her whole body shook, and he feared for a second that she was going to break a rib or something.

"Here" he said softly, holding the glass of water she had brought him to her lips so she could drink it.

She finally calmed down and he asked her what had happened. What was wrong?

"It's just this whole ordeal. I was so scared when Kemen told me you got shot. And than I had that dream, and it was just too much. I thought you were safe, and then you got hurt again. And when you passed out at Roscoe's safe house, I thought I had lost you for good"

"You will never lose me for… did you say Roscoe? Did you find out that it was Faith's house?"

"Maybe" she answered, looking down, "but Jase, focus on your sobbing girlfriend a second"

"Right, sorry" he said, trying to push business aside and just focus on holding her.

But, as usual, they were interrupted. By Sonny.

"Serena, can I speak with you for a second?" asked Sonny, barging right in.

"Ah...yeah" she answered, brushing the tears from her face.

"You ok?" Jason heard Sonny as her as they walked into the hall.

'Great' he thought. 'Now they won't even discuss business in front of me. Talk about role-reversal'.

* * *

A few minutes later Serena walked back into the penthouse, sans Sonny. She wordlessly opened the front closet and took out the lock box. Opening it, she retrieved the gun, but Jason got up and took it from her before she could load it. 

"What are you doing?" he asked her

"Working" she answered as she grabbed a hair tie off of her wrist and put her hair up in a secure ponytail.

"Are you going to take care of Faith?" he asked.

"Why does it matter Jason?" she asked impatiently.

"Because it's suicide. Faith is virtually indestructible. One of her guards will kill you first. And we both don't need bullet wounds right now. One of us getting shot was enough"

"Jason, I'll take my chances"

"No, you won't" he ordered.

"I wont?" she questioned, searing with anger. "Last time I checked, you didn't order me around like one of your employees or one of these little guard guys that shake in their shoes every time they see you. I make my own decisions, I make my own choices. You don't pick for me. And you certainly do not own me" she said, her brown eyes cold as she looked at him.

He looked at her with matching cold eyes as she grabbed the gun from him. She turned to walk out, but he grabbed her wrist of the hand that held the gun. He pulled her back, holding and pulling her a little too forcefully. She glared at him in anger, and before he knew it, his cheek was stinging from her slap. He let go of her and grabbed his cheek in pain. She had a hard hit, and the force of it had turned his whole head, causing his neck to crack in the process. He rubbed his sore cheek with one hand and his sore neck with the other. They just stood there, glaring at each other. Her eyes seemed to be filled with dread and disbelief. She couldn't believe that she had just hit him. She had hit him hard enough to bruise.

"I'm sorry" she whispered. "Let me see it" she said, trying to gently remove his hand from his cheek and inspect the damage she had caused him.

He flinched away from her touch.

"Just go away" he told her coldly.

"Jason, please"

"GO!" he yelled at her and she fled from the penthouse, gun in hand, tears stinging at her eyes.

He slammed the door behind her and went into the kitchen to get some ice for his still throbbing cheek.

* * *

Meanwhile, Serena sat in the hall, leaning against the door to her penthouse, swiping at the tears that were falling. She couldn't believe that she had hit him. It was never ok to hit the man you love, especially when you love that man with all of your heart. Jason had just confessed to her that he loved her more than life, and she had just hit him. She felt terrible. She wanted to go back in there and get down on her knees and beg at his feet for forgiveness. She hated how coldly he had looked at her when he yelled at her to go. Frustrated, she stood up and barged into Sonny's penthouse. 

"I can't do it" she yelled. "I won't. Sonny, do you have any idea what the hell I just did because of this!" she yelled.

"Shh, calm down. Come here and talk to me" he said, leading her to the couch. "What happened now?"

"Jason saw me go for the gun and he immediately knew what I was doing. He told me it was suicide, and that I shouldn't do it. Then, he ordered me not to and I just lost it on him. I yelled, he yelled, he grabbed me to stop me from walking out, and then I turned around and slapped him. Hard. Right across the face. His neck cracked and everything. I mean, it's definitely going to bruise. I hit him Sonny!"

"Calm down, you lost it, it's no big deal"

"As if he hasn't been through enough pain already, I'm just adding to it. We've never had a fight before you know" she said.

"Never?" he questioned.

"Never. I mean, there was that day that I thought he was going to break up with me, but that was more of a misunderstanding than a fight" she responded.

"Come on" he said, pulling her up by the hand.

"Where are we going?" she questioned, but he ignored her and led her across the hall.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jason sat on the couch, icing his cheek. It hurt to fight with her, both emotionally and, as he now learned, physically. He knew that he had grabbed her too hard, but she didn't have to hit him. The little devil on his shoulder kept reminding him that if she loved him, she wouldn't have hit him. 

The door flew open and a livid Sonny barged in, dragging Serena behind him. When she saw that he was holding ice on his cheek, she looked down. She really had hurt him.

"Serena tells me you two are having your first ever fight" said Sonny, sitting her down on the couch.

"Yeah, so" mumbled Jason.

"Let me see it" said Serena softly, lifting the ice off his cheek to look at the forming bruise. It was already turning black and blue. She gingerly touched it, and he closed his eyes for a second as he felt her hand on his skin. She kissed the wound, letting her lips linger on his skin.

"I am so sorry" she whispered.

"Me too" said Jason, taking her hand in his.

Sonny looked confused at how quickly that had just happened.

"Well my work here is done" he said, congratulating himself on putting them back together so easily.

Once they both heard the door close, signaling Sonny's exit, they turned so they were looking into each other's eyes.

"I lost it. I just snapped and I didn't mean to hit you. I just kind of reacted" she said

"I know. I shouldn't have grabbed you like that"

"I guess this has just all been hard on us. You getting shot, and being in the hospital. I guess it just made us both realize that we're not invincible. That we can end up losing each other" she said as her forehead rested against his.

"Yeah" he said, lifting one hand to caress her cheek.

"I never want to lose you" she said.

"And I never want to lose you either" said Jason as he held her tightly to him.

"I love you so much" she murmured into his chest.

He couldn't imagine how he had gotten so lucky. Even with their fight, he still felt blessed to have her. That he had ever doubted her love for him was crazy.

"I love you too" he whispered to her.

"But what are we going to do about Faith?" she asked him

"I don't know. But I'll call some of the guys together tomorrow and we'll talk about it"

"And by we you mean…"

"Me, you, and others"

"Good" she said smiling at him.

"And what do you plan to do until then?" she asked him

"Maybe give you some bruises of your own" he said, lowering his mouth so that he was sucking hard on her neck.

She moaned in pleasure as she allowed his teeth to bite into her. She straddled him and she lifted off his t-shirt. He pulled off her top and tossed it on to the floor. She unzipped his pants, and he pulled off her panties from underneath her too-short skirt. This was how it was supposed to be.

* * *

Serena sat perched on Jason's desk at the warehouse. Jason was sitting in the chair, and Francis, Max, Marco, and Lenny were standing around. Max was on the phone with Sonny, trying to sort out some details. He took the call and left the office, leaving the others to sit around waiting. Not a word was shared. The only sound was of Lenny's chewing on nicotine gum in an effort to quit smoking. Every now and then he popped the gum. Jason rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming on. 

"Pop" Lenny's gum went yet again.

"I SWEAR TO GOD, POP THAT GUM ONE MORE TIME LENNY AND I AM GOING TO _POP_ YOU!" yelled Serena, finally losing it.

Everyone stared at her and a small smile crept to Jason's lips.

"Sorry, anger spasms" she said with a small smile, wishing everyone would stop looking at her.

* * *

Finally Max walked back in and Jason began the meeting. It was decided that Faith would be warned, but her life would be spared this once. A quick shot to the leg or arm would do the trick. Of course, that brought on yelling on everyone's part about who's going to do it and how it would go down. 

"Alright, alright. One at a time. Serena, you talk first" said Jason.

"Why does she get to talk first" complained Marco.

"'Cause I'm sleeping with the boss-man" said Serena with a flirty smile and a flip of her hair.

"That's obvious" mumbled Max, prompting Serena to grab her neck and cover one of the many hickey's Jason had placed on her body only the night before.

"Hey" warned Jason. No one insulted his girl and got away with it.

"Sorry boss" said Max.

"Alright, here's the deal. I am doing it, end of story. It's personal at this point. I dealt with Herena, I got hurt. I want payback. One of her guards shot Jason. That's about as personal as it gets" she said.

"And why not let Jason do it?" questioned Francis. "It's personal for him too"

"Thanks for standing up for me, but I'm not in perfect form right now" said Jason, and they all knew he was referring to his recent bullet wounds.

"Look, why let Serena do it. I mean, she's a wom..." Lenny said, stopping before he said something that would get himself in trouble.

But he had already said too much. Serena had him pinned against the wall in a matter of a second, her elbow on his neck holding him in place.

"What were you saying?" she asked.

"Jason" croaked Lenny.

"Hey man, you're on your own. I wouldn't want to endure Serena's wrath" said Jason with a smile.

"You already have" said Max with a chuckle and a smile, motioning to Jason's cheek.

Both Serena and Jason glared at him.

"I really don't know how to keep my mouth shut today" said Max.

Jason smirked and told Serena to let Lenny down before she killed him. Sighing, she did so and threw her hair back behind her shoulders. It was decided, Serena would do it. Max and Marco would be back up, and Francis and Lenny would be in charge of providing her with an escape route. She ordered the men around, directing them in the plan. Once she was done, she left the office, throwing her hair behind her once more.

"Jason, you are so whipped" joked Marco, making a little whip noise and motion with his hand.

"You're telling me" he said with his lovesick smile on. "Did you happen to catch my role in that plan?" he asked

"Nope" said Marco

"Exactly" said Jason, following Serena out, causing the other men to laugh.

* * *

A/N: You know the drill. 


	18. Mama Mia

A/N: Here it is, the final posting. The next few chapters are it, up to chapter 22. And this story is done after much laboring. Be sure to read the note at the end!**

* * *

**

**Chapter 18- Mama Mia**

"Oww oww oww" said Francis, leaning heavily on Marco and Max as they walked down the hall with Lenny leading the way.

"What the hell happened?" asked Jason coming out into the hall. "Where's Serena?" he asked, his face going white as all the blood drained from it.

"Exit plan didn't go exactly as it was supposed to. She's fine; she's just parking the car. Apparently, we weren't doing it right"

"What happened?" asked Jason.

"What happened is you're giving me incompetent people to work with" said Serena coming off of the elevator. "El spazo over here tripped over his own big feet" she said jerking her thumb toward Francis.

"But everything else went according to plan?" said Jason, a smile gracing his features as Francis looked embarrassed.

"I hit her in the leg, just a graze. She'll lose some blood, but nothing else. I think she got the warning; she won't strike back just yet. And the no body bag, so no police" said Serena giving him the breakdown and then a hello kiss, standing on her toes to fully reach his mouth. "Miss me?" she asked him with a flirty smile.

"You have no idea" said Jason, smiling at her as well.

"I'm going to go ice myself" said Francis, sensing that the lovers needed some time to themselves.

"I'll help" said Max

"Me too" said Marco and they both followed Francis into Sonny's penthouse.

"You coming Lenny?" asked Max.

"I'm ok here" he said, leaning back against the wall and watching Jason and Serena make out.

"You are such a pervert" said Serena, pulling away from Jason to glare at Lenny.

"Come on" said Jason, picking her up and walking into the penthouse with her over his shoulder.

"That is not taking it easy" was the last thing they heard Serena yell as the penthouse door shut.

The boys laughed to themselves, glad to see their friend happy. Jason had been through a lot with Courtney and for him to be happy again was a big deal.

* * *

"Oh my god, Jase, that was so gross" she said, burying her head into the sheets of the bed as she ran into their bedroom, still dressed in only her bra and panties. 

"What happened?" asked the boxer clad man.

"Something crawled into our fridge and died" she exclaimed. "It smells gross"

"Something seriously died?"

"Jase, that was some form of sarcasm. Something must have just gone bad. Really bad. Go clean it"

"I'm not cleaning it" said Jason with a smile as he sat down on the bed next to her.

She flipped over on to her back so that she could face him.

"Well I'm not doing it" she said. "Come on, suck it up and stop being such a little girl. Go clean out the fridge" she said.

"Oh, _I'm_ being the little girl?" he said, laying on top of her and kissing her bare stomach.

"Alright, go smell it" she ordered.

"Why do people do that? They smell something gross and then tell other people to go smell the same thing. It doesn't make it sound too appealing" he said.

"I don't know. Maybe it would just be easier to get a new fridge" she answered him, stroking his bare chest.

"Maybe" he said grabbing her hands that laid on his chest.

He raised them to his mouth and kissed them, turning her hands so he could kiss her wrists.

"Jase" she whispered.

"Yeah?" he asked, leaning down on top of her so his body was resting on hers, but he was careful not to crush her.

"Go get me food" she ordered.

"Seriously?"

"There was a reason I went down to the fridge" she said. "Go to Kelly's. I want a burger but no ketchup" she said.

When he stared at her in disbelief she slapped his ass and said "run along"

"You're going to be the death of me, you know that" he asked her, a huge smile on his face.

"I get that a lot" she said returning the smile.

He kissed her once more before quickly dressing and running off to get her food. He really was whipped.

* * *

Serena brushed the knots out of her hair and sprayed some perfume on her wrists. She looked at the clock, eagerly awaiting Jason's return. She ran her hand through her hair and brushed it back so that it rested comfortably behind her ears. She walked down the stairs and sat on the couch, flipping on the TV. For once, there was nothing on it about someone in her family getting shot or arrested. 

"This is nice" she mumbled with a smile as she switched off the news and put on a repeat of _Sex and the City_.

* * *

Jason paid Mike for the food and walked out of the diner, barely stopping to breathe in the summer air as he did. He wanted to hurry and get back to Serena. He missed her, even though he saw her only twenty minutes ago. As he was walking past the docks he saw Kemen talking to a woman. The woman looked Spanish and about 50 years old. Kemen seemed to be having a heated argument with her in Spanish. He knew he shouldn't intrude, but if he walked by now, Kemen would know that he had seen him. Instead he kept quiet and hidden, glad he didn't speak Spanish. He knew that it wasn't his place to listen in. He was fine ignoring them until he heard Serena's name mentioned. When it became thrown in a lot more, Jason came out of the shadows to confront Kemen. He was about to open his mouth to find out what was going on when he heard Kemen call the woman "mama". 

"Mama?" questioned Jason.

"Jason?" yelled Kemen, surprised by the other man.

"Kemen, who the hell is this?" asked Jason, getting angry.

"Look, don't freak out" calmed Kemen. "But this is my mother; and Serena's mother"

Jason just gaped in shock. This was the woman who had left his lover with her abusive jerk of a father.

"Who are you?" questioned the woman.

Jason just studied her for a minute, contemplating his answer. It was obvious now that she was Serena's mother. The woman shared similar features with his girlfriend. It was like looking at an older version of Serena.

"This is Jason mom" said Kemen.  
"Jason who?" asked the woman, a confused look on her face as she looked the handsome man over.

"Serena's boyfriend" answered Kemen.

"She has a boyfriend? Is she as beautiful as I imagined her to be?" begged the woman to Jason, desperate for news on her daughter.

"She's the most beautiful woman to ever grace this planet" said Jason, his eyes cold as he looked at the woman. "Kemen, a word" said Jason, motioning with his finger over to the other side of the docks, his eyes never leaving Serena's mother.

Kemen and Jason walked away from her and bent their heads down in deep conversation.

"How long have you known where she was?" asked Jason

"Just a few days. She came to Port Charles looking for me. She had no idea Serena was here. She never met her. She left right after she gave birth"

"What's her name?" asked Jason, anxious for any information.

"Dalila. Dalila Martinez. She kept my father's last name" he said.

"What does she want? Money?"

"Believe it or not Jason, she wants to get to know me and Serena. The baby she left behind. And the son she never got to see grow up"

"Does Serena know about her?"

"Of course not. You would know if Serena knew. I just haven't had the heart to tell her. And she's been busy with the business."

"That's a lame excuse Kemen" Jason moaned, knowing Serena would be furious when she found out this news.

"I want to tell her. I want to tell her now" said Kemen.

"Fine. Be at my penthouse in a half an hour. I just want to prep her"

"Don't tell her anything man. This is my battle" said Kemen.

"Whatever, your call" said Jason, throwing up his hands in defeat and stalking off, the Kelly's bag still in his hand.

* * *

"He doesn't trust me" observed Dalila, looking over the man her daughter called home. 

"Do you blame him?" he asked her. "You left us with him. That abusive jerk. Ask Serena about her childhood when you see her. She won't be able to tell you anything because she didn't have one" he spat out angrily. "You better have a good excuse for leaving, and you better be back here only to gain our acceptance, 'cause if you have an ulterior motive, Jason Morgan will kill you. No one touches Serena these days and gets away with it" he warned.

"I just want to see my baby" she begged, her eyes brimming with tears.

* * *

Jason sighed as he walked into his penthouse. She was lying on the couch in just her bra and panties, watching TV. She had one leg draped gracefully over the back of the couch, and the other was up in the air in a position so odd he couldn't imagine how she was going to get up. When she saw him she smiled and rolled over, gracefully getting off the couch and landing on her toes. She slid over to him and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest. He knew this side of her. This was the side where sarcasm went out the door. This was when she had time to muse and decide that all she wanted was him. He got the same way as her. He wrapped his arms around her and held up the bag of food. She smiled and took it from him, taking his hand and leading him into the kitchen, dropping the food on the little table, never saying a word. She turned around and kissed him once more, her dark hair flowing as she spun. 

"I'm starving" she gushed, walking on her tip-toes over to the bag of food, an old dancer's habit.

"Kemen said he'd drop by in a half an hour, you should eat quickly and get dressed" he said, more coldly than he intended.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked him, surprised by his tone.

He looked at her. She looked so vulnerable and little. She had let her guard down for a few minutes, and in Jason's eyes, it was obvious. He couldn't begin to imagine what her reaction would be to her mother's presence.

"Of course I'm not mad at you" he said softly, taking her in his arms and enveloping her in a hug. "I'm just…stressed, that's all"

"How do you feel?" she asked. "Do you think your stitches got infected? Do you have a fever?" she questioned, putting the hand that wasn't holding her burger to his forehead in a caring manner.

"No, I'm fine. Really. Eat your burger" he said, kissing her cheek and going to the fridge to get them both beers.

How hard would it be to get her drunk? Maybe then she would take the mother news better? He took out his own burger and the two sat down at the table and quietly ate.

"Tell me what's wrong?" she asked him

"Nothing, I swear" he said with a forced smile to show her that he meant it.

He hated lying to her.

"Alright, fine" she said, finishing her food and then waltzing upstairs to get dressed.

* * *

Jason cleaned up the kitchen and then went into the living room. He put everything that she could possibly throw and break that they would care about out of her reach. He made sure there was nothing too sharp in the living room, and the sat down on the couch, awaiting Kemen's arrival. Serena came down the stairs, still on her toes. She spun around and dropped down on to the couch, cuddling next to him. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. The moment was ruined by the knock at the door. 

"I'll get it" said Jason, jumping up so abruptly that Serena was knocked over.

"Ok then" she said, straightening the pillows he had knocked over.

Jason opened the door and Kemen and Dalila walked into the room.

"Kemen, who's this?" questioned Serena, getting up.

The woman was far too old to be Kemen's girlfriend. She gave the woman a good hard look. She looked so familiar. In fact, it was like looking into a mirror. No… it couldn't be? Could it?

"I'm your mother baby" cried the woman, tears running down her face as she looked at her beautiful daughter.

Serena's eyes widened in realization, and surprise flooded her. Then, she looked at the woman. It was like watching herself cry. This woman looked so much like her.

"Mom?" she questioned once before running into her mother's arms, much to the surprise of both Kemen and Jason. "I can't believe it's you. I can't believe you're here" she exclaimed.


	19. Heartbreak

**Chapter 19- Heartbreak**

Jason was still in a little bit of shock. He had expected Serena to throw a fit. He had expected her to completely freak out. Instead, she was sitting on the couch, having an actual conversation with the woman who had abandoned her and left her with an abusive father.

"Alright, this is not what I was expecting" said Kemen coming up to Jason.

"Me neither. It thought she was going to flip out" said Jason.

"I mean, she left us. She gave birth and ran. She didn't even try to take us with her"

"Are you ok with this?" asked Jason.

"I don't know. I almost hoped she would be angry. I wanted her to seek some sort of retribution for her crappy childhood"

"Serena's childhood wasn't all bad" said Jason.

"Yeah? How do you know, you weren't there?" he snapped angrily. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak out on you like that" said Kemen.

"It's ok. And I know that her childhood wasn't all bad because she told me. She told me that she loved living with you"

"I bet she did. It's always great to not be able to afford anything" said Kemen.

"It's not always about money" said Jason softly.

"I just can't help but think that things would be better if she stuck around. Or if she took her with us" said Kemen. "I don't think I can do this" he said, storming out.

Serena heard the door slam and looked up to see Jason now standing alone. Excusing herself from the catching up she was doing with her mother, she ran out to see him. Jason was left standing alone with Dalila.

"So, this is my baby's new home" she said, trying to make conversation with him.

Jason didn't say anything. He just stood there, ignoring her.

"I don't understand why you hate me. Serena doesn't" said Dalila.

Again she just received silence from the man. Sitting back on the couch, Dalila took in her rich surroundings. Her daughter had certainly moved up the social ladder.

* * *

"Kem, what's wrong?" asked Serena, flying into the hallway.

"How can you just sit there, pretending like everything's ok?" asked Kemen.

"I'm not pretending like everything's ok. But Kem, I lost my mother once before, and now that I have her back, you'll have to excuse me for hanging on. I don't want to push her away. Sure, she made some mistakes, but who hasn't. Besides, how was she supposed to know that he would turn on us like that?"

"How was she supposed to know?" questioned Kemen, losing his temper. "Because he was like that before. Nobody in their right mind would leave two innocent children with a man like that"

"Maybe she wasn't in her right mind. She was abused too!"

"So was I! But I still took you with me when I left. I would never leave you to that monster, and I was only a teenager!" he shouted.

"Kemen, please stop yelling at me" she begged. "I just don't think I can handle this right now" she said.

"Fine, whatever. I'm going" he said turning on his heel and walking away.

Serena walked back into her penthouse and saw her mother sitting on the couch as Jason shot fire at her through his eyes. Without saying anything, she lightly shoved him up the stairs and sat back down with her mother, desperate to right any wrongs.

* * *

A month had passed since Dalila's presence in Port Charles first came known. She had begged Serena and Kemen for forgiveness, citing that their father had done her so much psychological damage that she had hardly known up from down at the time. Kemen was still cold to her, but Serena had embraced her mother with open arms. She had never had a mother, and she was so desperate for one.

* * *

Jason, Sonny, and Carly all decided that they didn't like Dalila. There was just something about her that seemed off. But Jason wasn't thinking about Dalila on that sunny Saturday morning. There was something else on his mind.

He walked up to Kemen's apartment and gave a tentative knock on the door.

"Hey man, come in" said Kemen when he opened the door and saw that it was Jason standing there.

Jason felt his palms start to sweat. He was a characteristically calm guy, but not today. Today he was nervous beyond belief.

"Kemen, there's something I've been meaning to ask you for about a month now, but then there was the whole Faith thing, and the shooting, and your mother, and…."

"Jason Morgan, are you babbling?"

"Kemen, can I marry your sister?" he blurted out.

"What?"

"I'm asking your permission to ask your sister to be my wife"

"Seriously?"

"No, this was all just a joke. Yes seriously! Look, I know you want better opportunities for her, but I love her, and I don't know what I'd do without her and…"

"Jason, I would love it if you proposed to my sister" said Kemen with a big smile.

"Look, I was only asking you out of respect! But your opinion means nothing. I will ask Serena to marry me, like it or… wait, did you just say you're happy about this?" he asked.

"Dude, your going to be my brother-in-law" said Kemen with a smile

"I got a ring and everything" said Jason sheepishly as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a stunning ring.

"She'll love it" said Kemen.

"I don't know why I'm so nervous. But I just want everything to be perfect"

"How are you going to ask?" he questioned.

"I was thinking I would bring her down to the docks, get down one knee. Afterall, it is where we first met"

"She'd love that" said Kemen with a smile.

"I just want her to be happy" he said.

"I know you do" said Kemen as he patted Jason on the back.

"I'm going to do it tomorrow night. I'm gonna make it like a two day proposal. I'm making her dinner tonight, and then I'm going to even dance with her. And then I'm spending the day with her tomorrow, and right at sunset, I'm going to ask her"

"Who knew Jason Morgan could be so romantic?" asked Kemen.

"Just don't let it get around" Jason warned.

"Just out of curiosity, when you say making dinner… "

"I mean bring in dinner" Jason finished.

"Good" said Kemen. 'I'd hate for a little thing like your cooking to spoil the whole plan.

* * *

Serena had no idea just what it was that Jason was planning. Spinning around in front of the mirror in her black dress, she thought she looked perfect. He told her it was a special dinner, and she was slightly confused. Jason had been busy with work lately, as was she. But they were taking some time for each other, and that was good. Serena fixed her hair and makeup and then started down the stairs. She hadn't seen Jason all day. She had spent a good part of the afternoon getting ready, and unless he came up and got changed when she was in the shower, he would still be in his gray t-shirt and jeans. Oh well, at least one of them was dressed up.

Walking down the stairs, Serena was surprised at the pleasant aroma. Also, the lights were dimmed, soft music was playing, candles were everywhere, and flowers littered the floor. Turning toward the kitchen, she noticed that the pool table was pushed against the wall and a table was set up rather than just the usual kitchen table. But the real eye opener was when she saw Jason. Her mouth actually fell open and almost got stuck that way.

"Jason Morgan, what are you wearing?" she questioned.

"What do you mean?" he asked as he looked at her.

She smiled as she saw how handsome he looked in his suit. But it wasn't the suit that got her. It was the tie, bound tightly around his neck.

"I can't believe you're in a tie" she said, taking a step toward him.

"Believe it" he said.

"You look incredibly sexy" she said, pressing her lips to his.

"I better, 'cause it's as uncomfortable as hell" he said, putting one finger by his throat to loosen it.

Serena started kissing his neck in an effort to make him forget about the tie, and he soon did. Pulling back, she glanced at the elegant table with the delicious looking food piled on to it.

"This looks so good. Please don't tell me you cooked it" she said.

"Nope, this comes straight from the kitchens of an Italian restaurant. El café Jason closed down after that horrifying lasagna incident."

"Good thing" she said with a laugh. "That was the most disgusting thing I had ever eaten in my life" she said.

"And nauseating, if you remember correctly" he added.

"Yes, but you were so sweet, holding back my hair for me like that".

"Well, it was my fault that you were throwing up so much"

"Let's not talk about that, let's just eat" she said as she started to pull out the chair to sit down.

Jason stopped her though and went to pull out the chair for her, offering his hand to her as she sat down.

"And he's a gentleman" she said with a little laugh.

"I always promised you that chivalry wasn't dead" he said, kissing her hand, prompting another little laugh from her.

Jason went to his side of the table and sat down, serving her first and pouring her some wine. Serena couldn't believe how romantic he was being. Dinner was fantastic, and for nearly the whole time, Jason held her hand while they ate. There was something different about him that night. Serena knew something was up, but she just couldn't put her finger on what it was. Once dinner was done, Jason went over to her and took her by the hand. Gently pulling her up, he held her tightly in his arms and the two danced. Jason wasn't one for dancing, but having her there made everything better. Any excuse to bury his head into the dark silky confines of her hair. Any excuse to feel her soft skin. Any excuse to wrap his arms around her like he would never let go. Serena buried her head into his neck as well. Her head was cocked to the side, and her lips rested on his neck. Her arms were around his neck as well, her fingers weaving through the hair on the nape of his neck. If someone was to walk in on the scene in that living room, they would have known exactly how much those two loved each other. Jason kissed her neck once and pulled back up, his hands still strong on her back, his arms still wrapped tightly around her.

"I don't know what I'd do without you" he mumbled.

"I don't know what I'd do without _you_" she countered, and the two held each other closer.

* * *

Serena's eyes fluttered open as she felt someone kissing her bare stomach. She knew who that someone was. It was the man that it always was.

"I didn't mean to wake you" he said, pulling his head up as he felt her stir, his cheeks turning pink as he blushed.

She put her hands on his reddened cheeks and told him that she was glad he woke her up. He went back to kissing her and she giggled a little before threading her fingers through his hair. Looking around at the bedroom, Serena saw the remains of the previous night. His tie was lying over the lamp; his shoes were kicked in two separate directions. His suit jacket was hanging off of a chair, and his pants and shirt were on the floor. His boxers were strewn haphazardly near his socks on the dresser. Her shoes were near his, and her dress was stuffed on to the foot of the bed. She hadn't bothered with a bra, but she noticed that her panties had worked their way up to the ceiling, and were now dangling from the hanging fan. Seeing this, she couldn't help but giggle. He looked up at her with confusion in his eyes and she pointed upward. The sight brought a smile to his face as well.

"Looks like things got feistier than I even remember last night" said Serena.

"How did those get up there?" he asked, causing her to giggle some more.

"I have no idea" she answered before the giggles overtook her, and he started to laugh as well.

"I'm going to get us some breakfast" he said, getting out of bed once they both calmed down.

"No, just stay with me" she said, flipping onto her stomach and taking him by the hand and trying to pull him back into the bed.

"I'll be back soon beautiful" he whispered in her ear, his lips dangerously close to her flesh.

"Hurry" she said with a smile.

"Knowing your back here waiting for me; I'll always hurry" he said. "I love you" he said before kissing her once more and then leaving as she called back to him that she loved him too.

* * *

Unfortunately, Jason couldn't hurry. There seemed to be an influx of people at Kelly's that morning. Apparently, no one felt like cooking. Serena was lazing in bed, just waiting for him, when she heard a knock on the door. Getting up and wrapping the thin sheet around herself, she walked down the stairs.

"Did you forget your keys babe?" she asked, tearing the door open, only to find that it wasn't Jason on the other side. "Mom, hi" she said, wrapping the sheet tighter around herself. "What are you doing here? So early?" questioned Serena.

"We need to talk" she said, coming in and sitting down on the couch.

"About what?" questioned Serena.

"About Jason" she said, looking dead straight into her daughter's eyes.

"What about Jason?" questioned Serena.

"Baby, I want you to leave him" said her mother with a small smile.

"Excuse me?" Serena asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"I want you to break up with him" she said.

"Mom, first of all, who the hell gave you the authority to suddenly come back into my life and demand that I give up the man I love? And second of all, why would I leave Jason anyway?" she asked.

"Honey, I know this is a lot to stomach. But this is no way to live your life. I see you making the same mistakes that I did. And I want you to get out before it's too late. Move away with me. We can go anywhere in the world, just mother and daughter. Jason is only going to hurt you. He is just going to use you for sex and then leave you" she said.

"No, he isn't. He loves me" she said defiantly.

"Serena, he is going to leave you. You two have been together for a while now, and he still has yet to get down on one knee and propose. He's not serious about the relationship. Honey, you're a pretty girl. He's just using you. I was able to tell from the first second I got here" she said.

"That's not true" said Serena, jumping up from the couch. "He loves me, and I love him. And I know it. He doesn't look at me like I'm just some girl he's screwing around with. He looks at me like he loves me more than anything. And I know that he does" she said. "You have known us for a month. You don't have a say in who loves who and who doesn't yet" said Serena.

"I am asking you, as your mother, to leave him"

"I won't do it. And if you're asking me to choose between you and him, then I will pick him, hands down" she said, her eyes burning with hate for her mother.

"You will break up with him. Or I will tell him about Shelby" said Dalila, her eyes brimming with fire as well.

"How the hell do you know about her?" asked Serena, her eyes filled with fear.

"I know a hell of a lot more than I'm willing to let you in on. Break up with him, or he will break up with you once he finds out what really happened. You have until tonight" said Dalila, letting herself out.

Serena sunk down on to the couch, letting her tears take control. She couldn't believe that she was being blackmailed by her own mother. And now, she was going to lose the most important thing in her life. Her heart.

* * *

Jason finally made it back from Kelly's.

"Sorry it took so long" he said, coming back in. "But Kelly's was packed and then… what's wrong?" he asked, his voice filled with concern as he saw her blood shot eyes.

Abandoning the food on the desk, he sat down on the couch next to her and wrapped his arms around her. Serena's fist instinct was to lean into him and let his comforting touch take away the pain of the world. But then she remembered her mother's words. She couldn't let Jason find out about Shelby. She didn't think she could take the way he would look at her if he knew the truth. But then, she had another change of heart. This would be her last day with Jason. She would have her one last day of happiness. Wrapping her arms around his torso, she burrowed her face into his chest and just sat there in his arms for a few minutes as he soothed her. He planted little kisses atop her head, rubbed her back, and smoothed down her hair. Finally, Serena knew it was time to pull away. She pulled her head back but kept her eyes on him. She titled her head up to look at his face. He seemed genuinely concerned about her. Of course he did, he loved her. But tonight, Serena would have to break Jason's heart. And the idea killed her.

* * *

As the day progressed, Jason became more certain that something was seriously wrong with Serena. She had brushed off her tears that morning as a stress breakdown, but he knew that wasn't it. Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes all day, and she could hardly look at him. Deciding that the proposal might cheer her up, he became eager for sunset, not knowing that he shouldn't have been willing the day to go by faster.

Finally, it was time. He led her to the docks where they had first met, the two walking hand in hand. They stared at the water for a few minutes, before both breaking the silence at the same time.

"I need to talk to you" she said at the same time that he said "can I talk to you for a minute?"

"You first" he said, wanting to leave the proposal for last.

"Alright" she said, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. This was it. She stood in silence for a minute, but Jason didn't question her or push her. He got the same way, and he certainly wasn't going to be a hypocrite. "I can't do this anymore" she said.

"Do what?" he asked confusedly, and Serena knew that she couldn't sugar coat it. She had to break his heart. Hurt him to save him. If she didn't, he would chase after her. Things would be worse. If he found out the truth about Shelby, he could even be killed.

Taking another deep breath, she said "of course you wouldn't know what I'm talking about. You don't have emotions Jason. You don't know what's really going on with me ever!" she yelled, tears streaming down her face. "What I can't do anymore is be with you! You're damaged Jason, you don't love. You hate. You don't feel bliss and happiness, you feel anger and rage! You're an animal that belongs to be locked away! I won't put myself through this anymore, I have to go" she said, trying to turn and run away. But he grabbed her by the wrist pulling her to him. Looking up, she saw tears welling up in his eyes and she couldn't believe she had just said such horrible things to him. She felt nauseous. She couldn't believe that she had hurt him that way.

"What's wrong, I know this isn't you" he said softly. "Tell me, I'll fix it. Please" he begged.

"You can't fix it. You can't fix it! You're broken and a mess. I didn't feel love for you, I felt lust. Now, let go of my arm you hardened monster!" she cried, jerking her arm away from his grasp and running off, leaving Jason behind. He just stood there, tears filling his eyes, yelling for her to come back. Begging really. Serena made it around the corner before collapsing into a fit of tears. Dalila was there, and she smiled at her daughter before bending down to put her arms around her and pull her close.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jason sat down on the bench at the docks and reached into his pocket. Pulling out the ring box, he opened it and stared at the diamond inside. Carly had wanted to come with him to pick it out, but he had refused to let her. He wanted it to be from him and only him.

"Will you marry me?" he mumbled before scoffing at his own words.

But the little laugh he gave hurt too much, and he put his head in his hands, trying to block out whatever the hell had just happened. He stood up and walked over to the water. He clenched the ring box in his hands, ready to throw it over the edge. Ready to chuck it into the water. But he couldn't. Looking down in the ring in his hands, he tried to imagine it on Serena's hand. But he couldn't. Because he wasn't capable of forming those kind of images in his brain. The god damn accident had prevented him from ever being able to do that. She was right, he was a heartless bastard. A damaged monster. She hated when he doubted himself like this. If she was with him right now, she would be wrapping her arms around him, her touch comforting to him. She would be telling him that he wasn't any of that. But she wasn't here, she was gone.

"I can't believe the things I just said to him" Serena sobbed.

"It's for the best darling" her mother cooed. "Now, let's go home" she said.

"My only home is with Jason" argued Serena.

"Well, now it's with me. Your mother my darling" said Dalila with a sinister smile.


	20. Anger and Conspiracy Theories

**Chapter 20- Angerand Conspiracy Theories**

Jason didn't know how long he sat alone on that bench, but it was a long time. He didn't even realize it, but he was crying. Big fat tears were dripping down his face.

"For someone with a hot girlfriend, you seem all alone" said a voice behind him.

Jason hastily wiped at his tears before turning around to see the last person he wanted to see at a time like this.

"What the hell do you want AJ?" he asked.

"What happened to Serena?" he questioned.

"What do you mean, what happened to Serena?" asked Jason.

"Well, she obviously isn't here with you. Oh my god, she dumped you, didn't she. Well, good for her. It's about time she realized what a heartless thug you were. I'll be expecting her call tonight, begging me to take her back"

"AJ, that would never happen. Besides, in order for you to 'take her back', you'd have to have her in the first place"

"I had her. I kissed her that day in the park. I felt her silky hair, and her perfect thigh. I had her for a little bit Jason, and I'll have her again" he said. "But this time, we wont stop at kissing" said AJ with his disgusting smirk.

All of the emotions that Jason was feeling at the time burst and Jason punched AJ as hard as he could. But the punch wasn't enough. He kept hitting AJ until he finally blacked out, cuts and bruises forming all over him. Pulling back, Jason realized what he did. Cursing under his breath, he checked for a pulse, and found a very weak one. He called 911 and gave them the information before running away.

* * *

"This is your new home" said Dalila, opening up the door for Serena. 

"This will never be home" said Serena spitefully.

"Baby, you'll get used to it"

"How'd you find out about Shelby?" questioned Serena.

"That doesn't matter now. What matters is that you're my daughter, and now you're back with me" said Dalila, going to brush back Serena's hair, but she pulled away from her mother's touch.

"Leave me the hell alone" she snapped before puling further back from her mother.

* * *

Jason didn't know what happened. He didn't know how he lost it. He couldn't let Serena affect him so much, but she did. He had ridden around on his motorcycle for a bit before heading back home. As soon as he reached the Harborview Towers, he ran into his best friend, Officer Murphy. Jason just sighed and turned around, putting his hands together behind his back. Murphy, who was leaning against the wall, let out a little chuckle and then took out the handcuffs and put them on Jason, reading him his rights as he did. Assault. No big deal, Justus would have him out in no time at all.

* * *

Serena lied in her new bed, staring at the ceiling. She didn't know how she was supposed to sleep without Jason next to her. She tried hard not to break down and cry again. She knew that Jason hated it when she cried, and she tried to pretend like he was there to prevent the tears from flowing. Serena's thoughts of her perfect Jason were interrupted by the shrill ring emitted from her cell phone. Serena grabbed it off the end table and saw that it was Kemen calling her. 

"Kem?" she questioned.

"What the hell happened tonight?" he asked.

"Kem, please. I can't deal with this right now" she said, closing her eyes in an attempt to make the pain go away.

"Why the hell did you break up with him! You two love each other! And now, he's sitting in the PCPD, and I have to go down there and help with the bailing out process, and he doesn't even care about cooperating because you couldn't even bother to not break his heart"

"Why is he in the PCPD?" she asked, concern for him filling her voice.

"He nearly beat AJ to death tonight and th…Serena?" he asked as his phone started flashing, signaling that she had hung up.

* * *

Serena was at the police station as soon as she could get there. She had to literally play Spiderman and climb out of her window and down the wall. But she was here. Bursting in, she didn't even acknowledge the officer sitting at the front desk asking her what she was there for. Walking in to the main part of the station, she looked into the cage. He was just sitting there. 

"Mac, I need to talk to Jason" she said, walking up to the commissioner.

"Serena, this may come as a shock to you, but you don't own the PCPD. Neither does Morgan or Corinthos"

"Mac, stop being such a heartless fool, I know your not. I just need to talk to him for a second. Bring him into an interrogation room, please?"

"They're all being used, sorry" he said, trying to walk out.

"Mac, I will continue to piss you off until you let me speak to Jason, so do something!" she demanded.

When Mac saw that she was serious, he unlocked the cage and let her in so that she could sit and talk to Jason. Jason didn't look up when the door opened, or when someone sat down next to him. It wasn't until the manicured hand reached over and rested on his leg that he noticed it was her. His head shot up in surprise as he looked at her.

"What are you doing here?" he mumbled, unable to look into her eyes as the pain consumed him.

Reaching over, Serena took Jason's hand in hers and intertwined their fingers before raising his hand to her lips and kissing it. She put his hand down but still kept their fingers together and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Why'd you beat up AJ?" she asked him softly.

He didn't answer her.

"I don't want to see you in prison for something as stupid as assaulting your dumbass brother"

"What do you even care?" he asked, coming to his senses and shaking his shoulder so she'd lift her head from it. He jerked his hand away from hers after careful consideration, but regretted doing it after when he felt empty and alone without her touch. "You broke up with me tonight, remember?" he said.

"I know. But Jase, please don't just go around trying to get yourself arrested" she begged, desperate to tell him it was all a lie and that she still loved him more than anything.

"There's my lovely daughter. Officer, please tell me she hasn't been arrested" said Dalila, bursting into the police station.

"Serena Martinez? No, she hasn't been arrested" said Mac.

"Fine, than darling, come out of there, we're going home" said Dalila, and Mac unlocked the cage, allowing Dalila to come in, grab her by the hand, and steer her away from Jason.

Jason watched her walk away and he automatically knew something was wrong. Was it possible that Serena really did love him and the things she had said to him had somehow been related to her mother? Jason's thoughts were all but confirmed as he saw Dalila squeeze Serena's arm hard and hiss something at her. Serena rubbed her throbbing arm and looked back into Jason's eyes and she walked away. He had gotten up and was watching her walk away, leaning against the walls of the cell. She saw something in his eyes. Something that told her he was on to what was going on. As much as she wished he could save her, she knew that he couldn't this time. Because if he saved her, than he would know her secret.

* * *

"There can not be any more slip ups like the one tonight" Dalila warned Serena. 

"What was I supposed to do, let him rot in prison?" exclaimed Serena.

"He's not your responsibility anymore Serena. Besides, he deserves to rot in prison"

"You're wrong. He will always be my responsibility because I will always love him. And he does not deserve any of what he got today" she said, storming back up the stairs.

"She's not taking it very well" said the man, leaning against the doorway and staring at Dalila.

"She'll come to" said Dalila with false confidence.

"She better. I don't want her getting hurt when we take out Morgan"

"She won't Armando, I won't let my daughter get hurt" said Dalila. "But I can't help but feel that she already did"

"Dalila, it's for the best. She doesn't belong with Jason. She belongs with Adrian. Adrian and Shelby"

"Shelby's gone" said Dalila.

"She doesn't have to be. She shouldn't be" said Armando, his eyes filled with something Dalila couldn't read.

"I don't want to hurt my daughter" said Dalila.

"Than just go with the original plan. Just go with it" said Armando before leaving Dalila alone again.

* * *

Jason sat in his penthouse, staring at the walls in front of him. Justus had gotten all of the charges dropped, but Jason was still in his own prison. The prison that was in his mind. He was locked up in there, and he didn't have anything to show for it. Serena was gone. She had come to see him when he was arrested, but then she was gone. She loved him, he was sure of it. He knew that those hurtful words came from someone else's mouth. He knew that it wasn't his beauty speaking. And Jason had a feeling that her odd behavior had something to do with Dalila. The woman had just showed up and had already started butting into Serena's life. And now, she did something that managed to convince Serena to leave him. Jason had two options. He could stay in his private little shell and feel sorry for himself, or he could get off of his ass and fight for her. Jason wasn't much of one for self-pity. He would go with the latter. He would fight.

* * *

Serena couldn't sleep, nor did she expect herself to be able to. The hurtful words she said to Jason kept echoing in her head, and all she saw was the hurt look on his face. Rolling over so that she was resting on her side, she looked at the empty space on the bed next to her. Her hand fell on to the empty pillow, the pillow that was normally supporting the most beautiful head in the whole wide world. Her Jason's head. She wasn't even in her own home. She was in this crappy house, in this crappy room, with this crappy blackmailing mother. 

Serena's thoughts wandered to Shelby. She hadn't thought about the girl in the longest time. Not since she got with Jason. She hadn't thought about what went wrong, or what might have been. She didn't think about how she was a horrible person, destined to go to hell for what she did to poor, innocent Shelby. She was the reason for it all. Serena's inability to do the right thing was the reason for the whole mess in the first place. Thinking back to Shelby's bright smiling face and dark curls, it was no wonder that everyone fell in love with her. Serena covered her face with her hands and just cried, letting her tears stream down her face and doing nothing else to stop them. She wished she could turn back time. She wished Shelby was still here with her. She wished she had never been so naive. She wished she never trusted her mother.

* * *

Kemen was sleeping. Or trying to. But the earth shattering knocks on the door prevented any rest he wanted to get. Getting out of bed, Kemen made his way to the door and pulled open the heavy slab of wood to reveal Jason. 

"Why'd she leave?" he demanded, and Kemen sighed.

"I don't know Jason" said Kemen. "Maybe she just doesn't love you anymore" he said, although he doubted it.

"No, that's not it. Serena loves me, I know it. I can see it in her eyes. Your mother did something to her, or said something to her. I know it" said Jason

"Jason, what are you talking about?" Kemen asked as the two sat down on the couch and the poor guy stifled a yawn.

"She came to visit me at the police station and she looked so sad when she looked at me. Like she wished she could just cuddle into my arms. And then, your mother showed up and literally pulled her away. Dalila has something on Serena, I know it!" exclaimed Jason.

"Look man, I don't know how she would. My mother never met Serena until that first meeting a month ago. And since then, I doubt she has gotten any dirt on her"

"She's blackmailing her some way. I know it. Serena loves me, and the things she said just weren't her. Even if Serena was mad at me and wanted to break up with me, that's not how she'd do it. This wasn't supposed to happen. We weren't supposed to leave that dock separated. We were supposed to leave it engaged" said Jason, trying to keep his emotions in check.

Kemen sighed and looked at the upset man on his right. Getting up and stifling another yawn, he went into the hall closet and pulled out a blanket and pillow.

"You can stay here tonight" he offered, knowing that Jason wouldn't want to go back to his penthouse alone. "But on one condition- you actually have to let me sleep. Feed me your conspiracy theories in the morning" he said, dropping the bedding on to the couch and walking back into his bedroom.


	21. Shelby

**Chapter 21- Shelby**

Jason awoke the next morning with a stiff back and a broken heart. He literally ached for Serena. He wanted to hold her in his arms so badly. It wasn't fair that he didn't get to. Getting off Kemen's uncomfortable couch, a comforting thought hit him when he realized that Serena had decorated this place. It reeked of her. Figures she would pick out an uncomfortable couch. She put beauty above comfort. He knew it, he had seen her shoes.

Walking over to the mantle, he caught a glimpse of a picture of her with Kemen. She had a bright smile on her face, and he wished he could see it live right at the moment, wherever she was.

* * *

But Serena wasn't smiling. She was standing there, her mouth open in shock as she stood in Dalila's front parlor. 

"No, this isn't happening" she whispered as she looked at all of the faces looking at her.

"I've missed you" said Adriano, taking a step towards her.

"We got a divorce. You signed the papers and everything"

"I was heartbroken. I would have done anything at the time. But I've come to my senses. We need to get back together"

"You told her about Shelby. How could you Adrian?" she questioned. "Shelby was ours, and no one else's. No one else had the right to know about her" said Serena, crying and running back upstairs.

* * *

Jason had given up on staying in Kemen's apartment and had left before the man even woke up. He found himself walking on the docks, almost hoping that by chance she would be out there. He didn't even know where she was staying. Jason was about to walk down the stairs when he saw Dalila in deep conversation with some man whose face he couldn't see. 

"Shelby was a low blow. We shouldn't have brought her into the equation" said Dalila.

"You know the plan, and you'll stick to it" said the man before walking off.

* * *

Jason ran back to Kemen's apartment and banged on the door again. 

"I get it, you got dumped. But don't take it out on the rest of us" mumbled Kemen as he opened the door, yawning again.

"Who the hell is Shelby?" demanded Jason, and Kemen's eyes widened.

"How do you know about Shelby?" asked Kemen with a sad look on his face.

"I need to know everything about her" said Jason as Kemen opened the door wider and the two men went in and sat on the couch.

"Shelby was Serena's daughter" said Kemen, a faraway look on his face. "She got pregnant with Adrian's child, even before they were married. And she gave birth to the most beautiful little girl the world has ever seen. And they were happy. But you know how things are in the business. Enemies don't intend to let you live in bliss for long periods of time. Shelby was almost a year old when Serena took care of a pretty big hit. But it went wrong. The man whose family it was broke into her and Adrian's house. He was standing over Shelby's crib, about to take the life of this innocent baby when Serena walked into the room. Serena had her gun on hand and she shot at the man, but he had grabbed Shelby at the exact wrong moment, and the bullet grazed the baby. Serena rushed her to the hospital, but she was too young and fragile. Shelby didn't make it, and it was Serena's bullet that killed her own daughter. Serena blamed herself obviously. She claimed that she was the one who shot her own daughter. It didn't matter that the man would have killed her daughter anyway. That she did the right thing by taking the chance and trying to save her. But the guilt consumed her. She's felt guilty ever since" finished Kemen, tears spilling for his little niece whom he loved so dearly.

Jason couldn't believe the story he was just told. It all made sense now. Her mother must have been threatening to tell him about Shelby. Serena must have thought that he would blame her, and not want to be with her anymore. She wanted to cut out any pain by being the one to break up with him. Plus, he was sure that the Sandoval's were somehow linked to this. Slamming his fist down, Jason got up from the couch and hastily headed out. Kemen mistook his actions for anger at Serena and got up and followed him.

"You blame her, don't you?" he questioned.

"What?" asked Jason turning around in shock.

"You seem angry. You blame her for killing an innocent little girl"

"No, I don't. I blame your mother for using Serena's pain to blackmail her. And I fully intend to get Serena back and take care of Dalila. I just have to find them"

"Dalila's been renting a house. On Forrest Street. It's big and brown, it's hard to miss" said Kemen, only hoping that the information would help.

Jason nodded and ran off to get his motorcycle. He needed to go and save Serena. He needed to be her white knight again.

* * *

Jason made it to the house in record time. He was able to easily find it. Parking his motorcycle, he walked around the house, surveying the property. Looking at the windows above, he saw some movement, but not much. Finally, he saw the shadow of someone brushing their hair in one window on the third floor. The curtains were pulled back for a moment and a head was stuck out of the window. It was Serena. She went back inside, and Jason knew what he had to do. Going over to the side of the house, he grabbed hold of the vines that were growing on the side. Using the stone of the house to help his footing and the vines to grab on to, he climbed up the side of the house in the same fashion that Serena had climbed down the house in only the night before. When he finally reached the window, he tapped on it, willing her to open it quickly before he lost his footing and plummeted to the ground. She finally came over and opened it, shocked at the sight she saw. 

"Jason?" she asked in shock before moving away so he could tumble into the room, landing on the plush carpet. "What are you doing here? Are you ok?" she questioned, grabbing at his hands that were bloodied from his climb.

"I'm fine, are you ok?" he asked.

"I don't know" she answered truthfully. "What are you doing here, how did you find me?" she asked.

"Kemen told me about the house"

"You shouldn't be here Jason. We're not together anymore"

"Yeah, and it's not because you don't love me. I know why you broke up with me. I know about Shelby" he said, watching her reaction closely.

Serena tried to act aloof, but the pain was too much. Giving in to the grief she had been feeling lately, she broke down sobbing, falling back so that she was sitting on the bed. He came over to her and kneeled down in front of her. Taking her hands in his, he kissed them over and over again. He reached up and tried to wipe her flowing tears away, and he pushed her hair back from her face. Getting up, he moved over to the bed and sat next to her. She leaned into him and he wrapped his arms around her as she finished her crying.

"How could you think that I would blame you for what happened?" he asked her.

"Because it's all my fault" she said.

"No, its not. You were protecting your daughter. It was an accident. And I love you, no matter what. Nothing would ever change my opinion about that. Not even that" said Jason, holding her tightly to his body.

He was so glad to be holding her to himself. He just wanted to hold her forever and ever in his arms. He wanted to kiss her, and love her, and tell her that everything would always be alright. He never wanted to let her go.

"I can't help but feel guilty" she said.

"I know" he said, his heart breaking into a million pieces as he looked at her sad face. "But this is nothing to feel guilty about. And this is nothing to let your mother blackmail you about. Come on, we're getting out of here" he said, standing up.

"Jason, I can't. I can't just sneak out the window. I need to break away from my mother. A clean break" she said.

"Let me take care of her" said Jason, clenching his hand into a fist.

"Jason, no" she said, standing up and walking over to him to place one hand on his arm. "I'm going to tell her to run. I'm going to tell her to get herself out of the state, the country, the continent. I'm going to tell her that if she doesn't, you and I and Sonny will hunt her down, and we will kill her. She is still my mother, and I don't want her dead. I need to talk to her" said Serena.

"Alright" said Jason, nodding in understanding. "But there's something I need to do first. I meant to do it last night on the docks, and now isn't the greatest time to do this, but I have to get it out" he said, taking her hands in his. Bending down one knee, he reached into his jacket pocket and watched as she stood there in shock. "Serena Martinez, I love you with all of my heart. I will never stop loving you until the end of time. Despite the obstacles that we have faced, we have pulled through, and we always will. You have given me hope, and you have made me happy. You have made me a better man, and I have nearly everything a man can ask for. All I need now is to make you my wife. So, Serena, will you marry me?" he asked, opening the ring box to reveal the diamond.

"Yes" she said, breathlessly as she started to cry again, but this time her tears were laced with happiness.

He slipped the ring on to her finger and she flung her arms around his neck as he spun her around in a hug. He put her down and the two leaned in and kissed each other for the first time since their 'breakup'. The kiss was sweet and passionate, and neither ever wanted to let go. Finally, they broke away from each other.

"I'm going to go" he whispered, still holding her in his arms. "Are you sure you can handle this?" he asked.

"I'll be fine" she answered softly, never wanting him to let her go.

"I love you" he said as he climbed out the window.

"I love you too" she called out as she watched him go.

* * *

Once he was gone, Serena walked out of the bedroom and downstairs to the kitchen, where she found her mother. 

"Serena, darling, glad to see you joined me downstairs" said Dalila with a smile.

"I'm not here for long Mother. I'm just here to tell you to run. Run for your life. If you don't, you'll be dead. Jason knows all about Shelby, and he doesn't care. He loves me anyway, and he wants to be with me" said Serena coldly.

"I don't think so" said Dalila. "I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you"

'That's where you're wrong" said Serena, her eyes brimming with hate. "I already told you that he doesn't care about what happened with Shelby. He doesn't blame me and he will always love me"

"Serena, we're in too deep" said Dalila, her face changing from spiteful to frightened. Grabbing at the counter next to her, she found her glass of pure vodka and took a swig, cringing as she did.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? There is no 'we'"

"That's where you're wrong. This Sandoval guy seems deadest on keeping you in the family. There is no way in hell that you can go back to Jason" said Dalila.

"Stop beating around the bush. Get to the heart of the matter" said Serena.

"If you leave, Sandoval will have Jason killed" said Dalila.

"Jason can take care of himself. He won't get hurt" said Serena determinedly, but deep down inside she knew that it wasn't true.

"He will go to whatever lengths are necessary Serena. He will have Jason killed, no matter what it takes. No matter how many other people have to die as well" said Dalila, taking another gulp of the alcohol.

"What did you do?" whispered Serena as the tears sprung to her eyes. "Dalila, he found me. He climbed up a wall to get into my bedroom. He got down on one knee and he proposed to me! He wants to marry me" said a heartbroken Serena as she continued to cry.

"This is all my fault" said Dalila, looking down at her feet.

"Your damn right it is" said Serena. "And now, you're going to help me"

"How?" asked Dalila.

"You're going to cover for me so that I can sneak out and warn Jason. I need to get to him" said Serena, trying to stop her tears.

"I don't think so" said Adrian as he walked into the room.

Walking over to Serena, he roughly grabbed her hand and yanked the engagement ring off of her finger.

"You won't be needing this anymore" he hissed at her.

"Jason knows that I love him and want to marry him. He'll find you, and he'll kill you"

"I'll be well guarded. So will you. Morgan won't get within a five foot radius of you. He'll be dead first" said Adrian with a broad smile. "You and I will be married. Tonight" he said, grabbing her by the face and pressing a hard, painful kiss to her lips.

Serena struggled from his grasp and he looked at her in anger, pulling his hand back to hit her. She crumbled to the floor, holding her cheek which she could feel was beginning to bruise. Dalila tried to walk over to her to comfort her, but she pushed her away. Serena was stuck. She was in a rut, with nothing to do about it.


	22. I Love You

**Chapter 22- I Love You**

Jason bounced into Sonny and Carly's penthouse. The two were surprised to see him so happy. Jason usually didn't show his happiness, and he especially wouldn't be happy after Serena broke up with him.

"What happened to you?" asked Sonny.

"She loves me" he said with his old lovesick smile plastered to his face.

"Well duh" said Carly with a roll of her eyes.

"I thought she broke up with you" said Sonny.

"She did. But it was Dalila. She was blackmailing Serena into it" said Jason as he told his two best friends all about Shelby.

Sonny knew what it was like to feel responsible for your child's death, and he immediately understood what Serena was going through, and why she felt trapped. Jason continued to tell them about the proposal, and how she was going to warn her mother and then leave. The two would be back together.

Unfortunately, Jason didn't know that Serena had neglected to mention the Sandoval's involvement. He had no idea that she was trapped.

* * *

Serena had been locked in her room by the Sandoval's to prevent her from escaping. She was literally being held prisoner. Sighing, she got to work on the task before her. She picked at the lock on the door, her eyes wandering to her left ring finger, where her engagement ring should have been. Serena refused to allow herself to not concentrate. Finally, she got the lock opened. After a silent thank you to god, she raced from the room, careful to keep quiet. Serena went down the first flight of stairs without running into anyone. However, the second she hit the second flight leading to the ground floor, the place was swarming with the Sandoval's guards. Serena held back, creeping up the stairs and into the first room she came to. It was a study of some sort. Rooting through the drawers, Serena desperately searched for a gun or weapon of some sort. She didn't find the gun, but she did find something else valuable. Her engagement ring. Slipping it back on to her finger, she set to looking through the other cabinets and closets in the room for a gun. She was so into her search that she hardly noticed as the door to the study opened. The man crept in quietly until he was directly behind Serena. Leaning down, he grabbed her with his arms and she started screaming. 

"You can keep screaming Serena, but no one is going to help you" whispered Adriano in her ear as she began to cry.

He dragged her body out of the room and motioned to some of the guards to take her. They grabbed her and picked her up, leading her from the house and putting her in the limousine waiting for them. Dalila watched them take her baby girl away as the guilt consumed her. She realized she could no longer let them hurt her. She needed to get help.

* * *

Jason paced around the living room, waiting for Serena to come to him. It had been hours and she still hadn't come home. Jason was sure something had gone wrong, and he couldn't believe that he had been stupid enough to leave her alone with Dalila. Deciding that he couldn't wait any more, he grabbed his gun and leather jacket, closing the door behind him as he left. He had just made it outside when he heard someone calling his name. Turning around, he saw an out of breath Dalila running to him. 

"Jason!" she called.

"What the hell do you want? And where's Serena" he demanded gruffly.

"Serena's gone. They took her. He led her away screaming" said Dalila as she broke down.

"What? Who led her away screaming?" asked Jason as panic suddenly seized his heart.

"Adriano Sandoval" Dalila answered as she continued to sob.

* * *

Serena had been trying to work her way off of the boat she was on for about an hour. The Sandoval luxury yacht was planning on taking off, and she would be on it. Adriano was going to take her away and force her to remarry him. And then of course, the cake needed its icing. Jason was to be killed so that the knife in Serena's heart was twisted some more. It was something Serena didn't even want to think about as she fought to get off. Finally, she was able to pick the lock and get the door opened. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out into the hallway and looked around. There were no guards in sight. She continued down the hallway until she found one. Grabbing a vase that stood as decoration in the hallway, she hit him over the head and watched as he collapsed before running up the stairs on to the main deck of the ship. Seeing that all of the other ways were blocked, Serena peeled off her shoes and then threw the evidence in the water below. She took another deep breath and dove off the side of the boat. As soon as she hit the water, she started to swim. She was on the far side of the boat, but it was still docked, so she was able to make it to the dock with relative ease. All she had to do was wait there until Adriano set sail, and then she could run to her Jason.

* * *

Jason made it to the pier in record time, his gun out and ready. His plan was to shoot first and ask questions later. He finally found the yacht and was about to attack when Adriano stepped off the boat, his gun trained on Jason. 

"Looks like you found us Morgan" he sneered. "But your fiancé is now my fiancé, which is only fair because she was my wife first"

"Release Serena now! You can't force her to marry you"

"Watch me" said Adriano with a smirk.

"How do you plan on doing that?" asked Jason as he attempted to buy himself time.

"Well, I plan to refuse to give you any medical attention after I shoot you until she becomes my wife" said Adrian as he pulled the trigger.

Serena had heard the whole thing from her hiding spot and she quickly darted from the water, throwing herself in front of Jason. Before he had a chance to react, the bullet reached where he and Serena were standing.

"No!" he yelled as she crumbled in his arms into a bloody mess.

Adriano stared at them in shock. He couldn't believe he just shot the woman that he loved. Jason felt the hot tears running down his cheeks as he shot Adriano three times, killing him with the first bullet, but using the other two for good measure. He scooped her in his arms and brought her wet, bloody body to safety as he called 911, praying that the ambulance would be quick about getting there. He started to put pressure on the wound but his shaking hands were making it difficult.

"Is this how you felt when I was shot?" he asked her unconscious body through his tears. "Please, you need to hang on Serena. I love you, and I can't imagine my life without you. Please, please hold on. I love you so much" he repeated as the sounds of sirens took over the air.

* * *

_Two Weeks Later_

"Sonny, this is not the time to be slow" snapped Carly as she rushed around, her hair flying around, and her eyes wild with excitement. "This is the day that your best friend is getting married! We need to be ready NOW!" she demanded.

"Carly, they're getting married in the hospital chapel. They are inviting you, me, the boys, Emily and Kemen. This is more of a Justus of Peace type thing than real wedding"

"That is no excuse" she said. "Now come on, we need to get to the church and convince Jason to wear this" she said, brandishing a silk tie.

"He's never going to go for it" demanded Sonny.

"It's his wedding day. He's wearing a tie" said Carly as she grabbed Morgan in her arms. "Morgan's wearing a tie"

"Morgan is 2. And you are his mother. He wears whatever you put on him"

"Jason will wear whatever I put on him" maintained Carly.

"Yeah, maybe a week ago he would have. When he was in that funk"

"Sonny, the love of his life was lying in a hospital bed in a coma. I think he's allowed to be in a funk"

"I was worried about him" Sonny confessed.

"Me too" Carly admitted. "I don't think I have ever seen him like that. He was so emotional. He was a completely different Jason"

"But he's ok now. And so is she. And they're getting married" said Sonny as he snapped back into taking-charge mode. "Now come on, we have that wedding to attend to"

"Now you want to rush. Figures. MICHAEL! LET'S GO!" Carly yelled up the stairs.

* * *

"Jason Morgan! Back away from that door!" Carly demanded as she walked into the hospital only to find Jason's hand on the doorknob of Serena's hospital room. 

"Carly, where did you come from?" he asked as he almost jumped out of his skin. "Look, I just need to see her. I'm really worried about her"

"She's fine Jason. And you know the rules. You can't see the bride before the wedding day"

"I still don't believe in the rule that says the groom can't sleep in the bride's hospital room the night before" Jason grumbled.

"Well you better believe it" said Carly. "Where did you sleep last night, just out of curiosity?" she asked.

"Here" he said as he pointed to the door.

"You slept in the room with her? That is not allowed!" said Carly as she began to hit him.

"Hey, hey, hey, enough with the hitting" said Jason as he moved away from her. "Calm down. I slept right here. On the floor" he said.

"You slept in the doorway"

"I leaned up against the door" he said sheepishly as he looked down. "I just needed to be near her"

"Aww, Jason you are so cute" she said, her demeanor changing and her voice becoming higher pitched.

"Funny, I've never been described as 'cute' like that" said Jason.

"Well you are. Now, go put this suit AND TIE on, and then meet us at the chapel. Got it? Go" she ordered.

"A tie?" asked Jason.

"Go" Carly ordered again, pointing this time.

"Fine" he grumbled as he stalked off.

"Some people" Carly sighed as she walked into Serena's room.

* * *

"Hey" she said brightly as Carly walked in. 

Emily was already with her and she was in the process of getting her hair and makeup done. Emily put the finishing touches on her, covering up any lingering bruises from Adriano and then Carly pulled out the dress. The dress was perfect. It was a pale white, with two thin spaghetti straps. It stopped just below her knees, and although it was plain, it clung to her every curve. She looked perfect, and they all knew Jason was going to melt at the sight of her.

"Here is your bouquet" said Carly as she handed her the flowers and helped her to put on her shoes.

Serena got into the wheelchair and Carly started to wheel her down the hallway and into the elevator. They reached the chapel and found Kemen waiting outside for them.

"How is he? Is he ok?" asked Serena with worry.

"He's fine. But he's going crazy with worry about you" said Kemen with a laugh.

"Assure him that I'm ok" ordered Serena to Carly as she and Emily walked into the chapel.

"We will" said Emily.

* * *

Once Carly made sure Jason was wearing the tie and the music was ready, Serena rose from the wheel chair and took Kemen's arm. She was still shaky on her feet and the heels didn't help, but she was hell bent on walking down the aisle, and hell bent on becoming Jason's wife immediately. Kemen and Serena started the long walk down the aisle. Jason's breath caught in his throat when he saw her. She was beautiful and he felt so blessed to have her. She smiled at the sight of him fidgeting in his tie as Kemen kissed her and gave her hand to Jason. He gently led her to the altar, partially holding her up so that she didn't have to put too much pressure on her legs. Before they began though, Serena reached up and gently undid his tie, removing it and passing it to Carly. She undid the top buttons of his crisp white shirt and then gently massaged his neck a little. 

"Much better" she said with a wide smile.

"Much" he agreed as the guest's smiled.

Finally it was time for the ceremony to begin. The two said their vows and promised to love each other forever. They slipped matching engraved rings on each other's fingers and finally, were pronounced man and wife. The two kissed and Jason picked her up and held her in his arms, walking down the aisle with her like that. They exited the chapel and looked into each others eyes. Neither could wait to embark on their future with the other. They were so in love, and nothing would ever change that. Jason looked into Serena's eyes again and gently kissed her.

"I love you" he whispered.

"And I love you" she whispered back as the two kissed again.

* * *

A/N: Ta-dah. After like, 3 months, I finished. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with the ending. I may write a sequel if I get the time, or maybe just add more to this, but don't look for it for a long time. I have a lot on my plate right now. I hope you all liked it, and thank you to my most loyal readers: 

5432Run (My only reviewer sometimes)

GHER45

Also thanks to:

Serena

Abc123

And

GHgirl15

Thanks for reading!

-Leanna Ross


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